Just Gotta Be Happy
by dani6531
Summary: Danny's best friend became a famous footballer who won a World Cup and he didnt even realize it. Did they really just drift apart? Can the Celebrity charity match give them a chance to be friends again?
1. Chapter 1

**This may seem like just boring history. But it's really important and leads into a twist. I swear.**

******

"I hate Mondays," Danny Jones stated to his best friend, Max.

"Mondays suck," came the usual reply.

They banged their fists together and walked away from each other in the hall. It was their Monday morning ritual. Max headed to French and Danny went to Literature. Danny hated school, couldn't wait to get out and Max thought of it as a means to an end. Football was life to Max, who played for the school team and was being scouted for major universities. Danny wasn't as talented athletically but had an ear for music. He could play guitar like no one either of them had ever met. He wanted to play in a band, and not a band like the Backstreet Boys, but a proper band that wrote and played their own music. Neither of them were popular, people just left them alone because they were both so occupied with other things they never really had time for other people.

At 16, both Danny and Max were so focused on getting what they wanted they barely had time for each other but they had been friends forever and they just kind of worked. Both respected the passion the other had for what they did and encouraged it, mostly because they didn't have anyone else. Danny's mum was amazing but wanted him to put more effort into his schoolwork. Max just didn't have parents, not really. The mom was a drunk and the dad used to beat his kids for fun but left when Max was about eight. The same year Max met Danny. That meeting had been unlikely to form a lasting friendship.

******

OOF! The kid's fist had come out of nowhere. Danny had pushed a girl aside in his rush to get out to the lot first and the kid with short brown hair and intense dark, gray eyes had but a stop to it.

"Who do you think you are, pushing her like that?" An angry voice accompanied the pain in his stomach. "That's my sister you just shoved, you idiot."

Danny, being an average eight-year-old boy had lunged back, swinging his fists wildly and connecting with what he thought was the kid's nose. "Careful who you're hitting, Tubby." He had finally gotten a good look at his attacker and saw a kid shorter than him who wasn't fat but was definitely still carrying some baby pudginess. The kid's nose was now bleeding heavily.

The little girl beside the kid was crying silently, tears running from her bright blue eyes down her cheeks and chin. She was fine, but clearly seeing her sibling stand up for her then end up bleeding had been too much for her.

The other kid barely even paused before jumping back on Danny, punching him in the jaw. "You made my sister cry," the angry voice was scary coming from someone so young. Danny couldn't help but hit back, rolling over the kid so he was on top hoping to avoid any more flying fists.

Hands suddenly pulled at him from behind. One of the teachers had the kid by an arm and Danny's mum had come from the lot and was holding him back by the scruff of his collar. He could have gotten away but that would really hurt his mom's feelings. She worked really hard to instill in both her kids that fighting was not a way to solve anything.

The adults had taken one look at the kid's nose and, probably both realizing it was broken, began asking where their mom was.

The kid's defiant face turned upward. "I walk my sister home, I don't need anyone to come pick me up. I'm not a child," the angry gray eyes turned in Danny's direction indicating that clearly they thought Danny was a child.

"Someone needs to take you to the hospital," Danny's mum stepped in, being the matronly person she was. Danny was jealous the other kid was getting all the attention. They were the one that swung first; it wasn't fair.

"I'll take myself, come on Bells, let's go," the kid's hand stuck out toward his sister. She took it silently but held back.

"Maybe someone should take you," she whispered in a small voice. The hard gray eyes softened at the sound of her voice. The kid was clearly looking for an out, but gave up when seeing the tears in her blue eyes.

"Ok, Bells," came as a whisper. "Fine," much louder now, "who's taking me to the bloody hospital?"

Danny's mum immediately fell upon them both fussing like a mother hen. Danny loved when his mother treated him like that, but not in front of other people, so for once, he was happy it wasn't him. She whisked the three of them plus Danny's sister into her car and began the trek to the hospital.

Vicky, Danny's sister, was really good with younger kids and had the little girl, Bells, in giggles pretty soon, telling silly jokes and telling her funny stories from the front seat. Danny was stuck next to the tough kid who was now plugging the bloody nose with a small fist. The kid extended their unused hand to Danny and said, "You stick a pretty decent punch. My name's Max, what's yours?"

And so began their totally twisted friendship. Danny's mum got Max to the hospital, the nose was fixed and set, and they were all sent home. Max gave directions to their house and Danny's mum insisted on walking them both to the front door. Max tried to argue but she wouldn't take no for an answer, took both their hands and strode confidently up to the door. She knocked once and waited, nobody came. She knocked again. The door creaked open and a wispy looking woman stood there, looking confused as to where she was. Danny saw his mum trying to talk to her but the woman looked even more confused. Suddenly a harsh yell came from inside the house, Danny and Vicky both heard it from the car and looked at each other in shock. A burly man with dark scary eyes that matched Max's came through the door, pushing his wife aside and grabbing Max by the wrist and dragging the small kid inside. The little blond girl followed, after politely thanking Danny's mum.

The ride home had been silent and when they got home Mrs. Jones hugged both of her kids tightly and kissed their foreheads. Both of them let her, even though it usually made them uncomfortable.

The next day Danny had sat next to Max and Bells at lunch. Everyday for the next eight years had been pretty much the same. Although Bells (Isabella was her full name) had become more popular in recent years and now had her own group to hang out with. When they were younger, they went over to Danny's and Vicky's after school to play and do homework. This was where Danny learned to play football. Max was good, really good, and loved to show others. So Danny became the first pupil. Danny taught Max to play bass so he would have a better idea of what he sounded like as part of a band. Max wasn't too good but knew enough to help Danny out when needed. Danny's mum all but adopted them by the time they reached double-digit ages.

Danny learned much later that Max's dad had moved out not long after the incident his family had witnessed and their mum started drinking even more. Max had been working teaching football at a kids league since turning fourteen and Isabella had done this same this past year in order to buy clothes for themselves for school. Although they both still got hand-me-downs from Vicky and Danny. Both Max and Bells being smaller than the other siblings.

Max's nose had remained defiantly crooked and Max always said that changing it would be like changing history. And Max liked history the way it was.

*****

They were almost done with school now, just a couple years to go and both were talking about what they wanted to do. Both had grown up quite a bit in the last eight years. Danny was tall, about 5'11" and had curly brown hair that usually fell to about his collar. His blue eyes had become more prominent and brighter over time and he was no longer the scrawny kid Max had knocked over in the parking lot that day. Max was not as tall as Danny, but still stood a solid 5'10". The pudginess was gone with all the football training and Max was now solid muscle from head to toe. The dark hair and gray eyes remained the same, however, and when Max was really mad Danny would almost swear he was looking back at the mean little kid who could punch like no one else he had ever met. Danny wanted to join a band, and actually had an audition lined up. He was so excited it was ridiculous. Max had worked really hard in school and was actually able to finish a year ahead if need be. The scouts had been out in droves to their games and Danny was sure Max would get a scholarship to go play for a big university.

Time elapsed and Danny's audition for the band had been terrible. Max had gone with him and originally commented about him being the only one with a guitar. But the comments were soon directed towards the other applicants who were stretching about and singing ridiculous pop songs under their breath. Max had to hold in laughter as soon as the audition started. Danny realized he had made a mistake about the nature of the band. The boys around them were singing silly bubble gum songs and dancing. Danny pulled out his guitar and sang "Bittersweet Symphony". Needless to say he was not what they were looking for, but another guy there stopped them as they were leaving and asked Danny to play something else.

It turned out the other guy, Tom, was looking to start his own band. He already had management and everything. Danny jumped at the offer right away.

Max got the scholarship and moved off to London to play for the coveted Oxford team. Max had originally not wanted to leave Isabella but Bells talked Max into it saying that she never really was at home anyway. It was no big deal and she could take care of herself.

Only a few months after they had both moved out, right before Christmas, Max and Isabella's mother passed away. It was the first time Max and Danny had seen each other since they left. It would be wrong to say they were not upset, but they showed much less remorse then people would expect for a mother's funeral. People looked at Max and Isabella as though they were not showing the right respect for their mother. But Danny and his family knew better. This was a blessing, she had been in pain and was no longer able to care about anything, including her own children.

Max decided to move back to care for Bells, but Danny's mum quickly intervened. She offered to be Isabella's formal guardian until she finished school. It took hours to convince Max that this was an ideal plan but the deal was finally made.

After that, Max and Danny both frequented the house as much as possible but both were exceptionally busy and rarely crossed paths. Both kept up on information about the other through Mrs. Jones, Vicky, and Bells, but they eventually lost all touch when Isabella finished school and moved to London to go to university and live with Max. Christmas cards were sent to the Jones family every year but they rarely went back to relive the painful memories Bolton held for both of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny left his apartment that morning heading for Tom's. He stopped at a paper stand looking for the newest issue of HeatWorld Magazine. Best to bring a peace offering to Gi when he was planning on stealing her boyfriend for a couple hours to go over a song he had been playing over and over in his head. His gaze shifted over the countless magazines and papers lining the shelves looking for the one he wanted but paused when he saw the UK Sports Illustrated.

There was a familiar face, with a nose that looked like it had been broken at least once, looking back at him. The girl's short, choppy hair was spiked all over the place, some of it in a sloppy Mohican and the rest messily falling randomly. She wore a sports bra and football shorts, both black and sporting the British flag, a gold metal hanging around her neck, and a smug smile plastered across her harsh features.

"The UK's Black Sheep of Football Brings Back a Gold: Toma Maxwell's Fight for Respect at the Women's World Cup." Was the title jumping off the cover at him. He grabbed the HeatWorld for Gi and the Sports Illustrated for himself, paying for them and walking in the direction of Tom's house.

There was no way this was happening. How had he not known Max had gone on to play for England's women's team? The win had been huge news in England, it was the first time the team had made it into the semi-finals let alone won the title. He tore open the magazine as he walked and read the article as fast as he could.

_Toma 'Max' Maxwell has a reputation as football's bad girl in the UK. Her short temper caused her several problems and series of suspensions from the sport in her first two years playing at Oxford University. Her third year saw a drastic change and since that time she has been training with the National Team. In recent years she had managed to tone down the temper and become one of the most talented women the sport has ever seen. Her coaches have said that she turned her anger into intense focus and has learned to read other players and ball movement like no other woman who has ever graced the sport. She was a no name until recently because of the negative press that always seemed to follow her around. But she pulled the Golden Ball (an award for the Most Valuable Player of the tournament) and Best Young Player award, being only 21 years old. We were able to get an interview from her after her World Cup victory, the first interview she has given since the win._

_How does it feel to be part of England's first Women's World Cup Win?_

"Absolutely amazing, the support we got as a team from the fans at home was spectacular. We received fan mail from across the globe supporting us. The team was powerful and I am honoured to be a part of it. I was playing with women I have idolized for years."

_A player receiving both the Best Young Player Award and the Golden Ball in the same year has not happened, neither men's nor women's, up until this tournament. Could you tell us what it feels like to hold that honour?_

"Only that it is truly a testament to my teammates and coaches, who I consider to all hold equal shares in the awards. I was a rough player until they got their hands on me. I didn't know how to channel my power and emotion into the sport properly. They taught me everything I know about the sport as it should be played. We are a team, we won together, that means every award, not just the gold metal."

_You mentioned not being able to channel your emotion and we all know you've had trouble with anger on the pitch before. What was it like having so much negative press? And did you teammates treat any differently because of it?_

"I deserved it. I was a problem player. I thought I was great and untouchable, when I found that wasn't the case I got mad instead of trying to make myself better. I was an angry kid who turned into an angry teen. I still have a temper and an attitude, but thankfully, I think I've learned to channel that into harder training and becoming more passionate about my sport. Not only my sport, but in everything I do."

"Originally, my teammates were less than enthusiastic about having a wild card like me on the team. Problem players can cause tension that can loose a match. I had to prove that I had learned how to be part of a team. It was hard, but I like to think that most of them have come to see me as a team player. I learned a lot at Oxford the year before training with the team and they have taught me even more since then."

_Is there anything you would like to say to make amends for those actions early in your career?_

"There is nothing I can say. I was horrible to play with and horrible to coach. I can do nothing except thank the people who saw through that exterior and twisted it into something good. I hope that nothing I did or said had a lasting negative impression on people and can only hope that from now on I can slowly try and make amends for my actions by working with other teams and kids from backgrounds like mine and help them to turn their anger into something constructive like so many people helped me to do."

_Can you tell us some of the people who have had a positive influence on your attitude?_

"My sister is a huge one. She wasn't done with school until my first two years playing were over. When she moved in with me to continue studying at Oxford she was one of the first people I truly trusted to openly point out the negative affect my actions were having, not only on others, but also on myself. A good friend of mine's mum is another person. Mrs. Jones took care of my sister and I when there was no one else to do it and I am eternally grateful for everything she has done. When I think how I acted would have made her feel I almost tore my own heart out. She loves us like a mother would and I would not be the person I am today without her help."

*****

Danny felt tears burn in the corner of his eyes when he read this but pushed them down. He had never really thought of his mother in this respect before, as a positive example for young women, but realized what an effect her love must have really had on Max and Bells. He would have to show his mother this article if she hadn't seen it already. She needed to hear what wonderful things Max was saying about her.

He continued reading.

******

"My teammates pulled me through as well. The experience some of them brought to the field is something I can only dream of having one day. They all helped in knocking me down when I was too cocky and pulling my back up if I reached a point to low. They cared for me as sisters would. They taught me in a way that cannot be understood by anyone who has not gone through a process like this. Being a part of a team that actually cares for one another is like being in a family. The amount of love and support isn't limited, they are always able to find more."

_Your feminist attitude has been a highly reported topic recently. Would you care to comment on that?_

"I believe that women are tougher than men. They have to be because men keep putting them down. This happened to my sister and myself when we were growing up and it made me into the person I am today. I can force myself to do things others cannot, become things others cannot."

*****

Danny stopped reading again. He remembered Max saying almost the exact same thing to him when they were about twelve and had gotten into another fight while playing football.

"Boys are better than girls," Danny had shouted at her. He was upset because she had passed him again.

"Girls are tougher than boy, Jones," she had answered easily, but with the hard look that scared him just a little bit. "They have to be, because boys like you keep putting them down."

He remembered feeling terrible after that because he recalled hearing her dad put her down and he didn't want to be like he had been.

He had reached Tom's place, he would have to finish reading later.

*****

He finished the article when he got home that night. Tom had flipped through the magazine while they had been working through the song ideas. He had made a comment about the team winning, but didn't really follow football so there was no way he would make any connection.

Danny hadn't managed to watch almost any of the Women's World Cup. They had been busy with the McFly and normally he just didn't think of women's football as being interesting as men's. He should have known better just by knowing Max. She made football interesting. She had always been amazing to watch, always quick and pulling surprise moves, it was impossible to guess what she would do next. He thought back to the couple parts that he was able to watch. The name Maxwell had come up because it had reminded him of Max but he hadn't really thought about it at the time.

******

_What about your look? Some people have said it's intimidating and unfeminine. _

"That's probably because it is unfeminine. But I've always had really short hair because it involves less maintenance and for playoffs its natural to do something crazy and I kind of love the Mohican look, so I decided to keep it for now. Men's clothes are generally more comfortable, so I choose to wear them instead. My nose, I know has attracted attention, but I like that it clearly looks like its been broken, mostly because it has. I started a fight when I was eight and I got my nose broken. But I feel like fixing it would be like re-writing history and I like history just the way it is."

******

Danny laughed, he had heard her say that so many times in her life it was ridiculous. He wondered if anyone would know that the reason it didn't heal right was because her dad would push on it to make his point sometimes.

The article had him on edge, wondering what Max would say next.

******

"And my face just naturally looks angry all the time, I actually avoid make up because, well first I don't like it, but second it makes me look even more harsh. And all my teammates are built like I am. We are just strong, big women and I would never hide that fact about myself. Plus, in general, I'm really still a kid, so I should be able to dress weird for a little while longer."

_There are also rumors floating around that you ignored Beckam when he came up to congratulate you._

"You know what? People are people. There are some people in your life who are naturally more important than others. For example, when Beckam came up to me after the gold metal match I was on the phone with my sister. So yeah, I considered talking to her to be more important at the time. My sister is my whole life and she had called to congratulate me, which, in my mind, is more meaningful. I spoke to him when the call was complete. I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings."

_Where do you plan to go from here?_

"I'm going to keep living my life the way I always have. Only better, I hope. Not because I have a hunk of metal around my neck, but because I've learned so much from being on this team and working with the other women that I now want to apply to the way I live. I want to help kids who have dreams and don't know how to attain them, kids that have been beaten down their whole life and no longer know how to apply themselves to get what they want. I want to help people like others have helped me. To realize their greater potential by either setting aside the bad stuff or turning the negatives into something better, like drive or focus."

******

Max _would_ ignore Beckham to talk to Isabella.

The pictures that accompanied the article were unlike any others he had ever seen, very much like he remembered Max to be. There was one with her team, all with their gold metals and jumping in the air. Another sported Max in baggy jeans, messy hair, no makeup, and a t-shirt Danny was pretty sure was actually his from several years ago. It stretched over her muscled shoulders and clung tightly to her chiseled abdomen. He had noticed her tight body on the cover but was so in shock he hadn't really looked. Not that he would ever check her out. It was Max, his footballer friend, the girl who could probably still kick his ass.

The final picture was one that he now recalled having seen, although he obviously hadn't noticed it was her at the time. The picture had been on the cover of every newspaper the day after the win. She was jumping high in the air, knees bent, left fist punching the air, right hand clutching a British flag, which flowed out majestically behind her. No photographer could have planned a better shot, the look of victory on her face had been captured in a moment of complete ecstasy. This picture was sure to be memorialized, similarly to the photo of Brandi Chastain whipping off her shirt after making the winning goal at the Women's World Cup in 1999.

What amazed him most about the article was how much they referenced Max's attitude problem and suspensions from early on. He hadn't realized it was that bad, although he got most of his information from Bells and Max would want to hide that side of her from her younger sister.

He remembered what she was like when they were growing up. She was so intense and focused, not to mention a little scary if the situation demanded it. She had never really gotten over what had happened to her, she had just moved past it. He had never thought of her as violent before, but when he relived some of his memories he realized how often they had actually gotten into fistfights. Her lack of friends in school was partially attributed to the fact that people were scared of her. She was one of those people that others tip-toed around, so not to upset her.

He was initially surprised he had not been told of her getting on to the team but quickly realized it had been years since they had spoken and it just felt a lot shorter. She would have had no reason to call and let him know anything. In fact, he was sure that she didn't even have his new number, because he didn't have hers, and neither Max nor Bells would let his mum know as she didn't follow football or understand the concept all that well. He decided to call his mum first.

"Mum?" He asked when she picked up on the first ring. "It's Danny."

"Hello, Darling," she was a in a good mood. "How are you? How are the boys?"

"All great Mum," he said quickly. "Had you heard about Max being on the Women's World Cup team?" Now that he was on the phone with someone else who knew Max he had to blurt it out right away. "They won the gold metal, she was featured in Sports Illustrated for being MVP of the tournament."

"Well, I knew she was on the team," she said off-handedly. "She mentioned it her last Christmas letter, I left it out for you to read when you were here in December."

"Seriously?" he was stunned. "I didn't see it."

"Sorry Dan, I must have put it away somewhere."

"It's ok Mum," he said, resigned to the fact there was nothing he could do about it now. "But you really should see if you can get your hands on a copy of the magazine with her on the cover. She says some really good stuff in the article."

"I'll try to do that then. I'm glad you came across it. I was wondering if you would ever think about them again. They were practically your sisters back when you were kids." She laughed. "Well, Bells was like your sister and Max was more like a brother, but you see what I mean."

He smiled at the memory. "I know. I miss them more that I realized. Does Vicky ever speak to either of them?"

"Vicky met Isabella for dinner last time she was in London, in February I think. I'm sure Max was at training or something or I'm sure she would have joined them."

"Great, thanks Mum. And don't forget to find the article if you can. I think you'll enjoy it."

"Night Dear."

"Night Mum, I love you."

"I love you too Dan. Give the boys my love as well. Bye."

"Bye, Mum."

Vicky knew where the girls were, or at least knew Bells' phone number. He could get it from her if he wanted. He turned the television on for background noise while he thought through if he wanted call Vicky or if he should wait and come up with some other way to get a hold of them. Or even just drop it all together. Then a commercial came on that immediately got his attention.

"Our Gold Metal Women's World Cup Team is participating in a celebrity charity football match on BBC, two weeks from Sunday," the announcer's voice came through the speakers. "So far they are keeping the names of the celebrities under wraps but it is guaranteed that all the World Cup team will be in attendance and many will be playing along with the celebrities. Some of the Men's National team will join in the fun as well. Join us here two weeks from Sunday to watch our national heroes have some fun."

_OH MY GOSH!! It's like it was meant to be_, Danny thought, gaping at the screen.

He was on the phone with his manager faster than he had ever dialed before. He didn't usually take advantage of what some considered to be 'celebrity status' but if there was any way to get himself into that game he was going to take it. Bells would likely be at the game as well. He could invite his mum too; she would love to see the girls and would at least pretend to love the game for his and Max's sakes.

He pushed Fletch until he caved. He convinced their publicist it was a good idea too and the two of them went to work getting him into the game. He had his fingers crossed that this would work out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone for reading and Please Review. I'd love to hear what you think.**

***********************************************************

His manager and publicist were miracle workers and he loved them for it. They had managed to get him in the charity match and he was even going to be a featured player, which was something he had never expected. He had done a week of training prior to the game day and had been sore for most of it. He had hoped to see some of the girl's team before the match began, but it would seem that they were training for the match differently than the celebrities were. He now had to do a bunch of press for the event, which he didn't usually mind, he was quite used to it by now.

It was now the day before the match and the other guys had done a bunch of press that week without him, using the excuse that he was in training as a reason as to why he wasn't there and using it as a plug for the charity match and Danny's involvement in it. He had several radio interviews to deal with, all over the phone and one television interview. The only difference from the usual ones was that he was alone for this and didn't have the guys to do all the talking. Tom and Harry were the responsible ones who always stayed on topic. He was the funny one and Dougie just didn't talk at all. This would be a bit new. He had never done an interview on camera by himself before.

He made himself even more anxious wondering if Max was watching. He was a featured player, but would that even matter to her. Did the team even have any idea who they would be playing with? Did they really even care? Realistically, they were probably more interested in the men's national team that would be joining them as well. What if she wasn't even playing? The commercial had said many of the team was playing but not all. At least she would be here though. And hopefully Bells would show up as well. He had invited Vicky and his mum, just as planned hoping they would get to speak to Max and Bells.

Danny's interview with "This Morning" was starting and he was still a bit nervous. No big deal, he would play it up, make the interviewers and viewers think it was cute that he was uncomfortable without the others.

"And now we would like to welcome…Danny from McFly." Fern announced. The audience cheered. Danny felt honoured that he would be on one of her last shows before she ended her run on the show and Holly took over. He had always had a soft spot for Fern; she was always so sweet to them when they came on the show. At least Phil would still be there.

He waved to the audience as he walked out onto the stage. They cheered louder. He had to love their fans. McFly fans were some of the most devoted fans out there, he was sure of it. He took his seat on the stool and let his nerves show through just a bit.

"Danny," Fern began in her fun voice, "how are you doing?"

"I'm really good. I'm so excited to be here."

"You look a bit nervous, Dear."

"Well, I suppose I am a bit," he said playfully. "This is my first interview ever alone, the guys aren't here to cover for me if I say something stupid." He laughed.

"Well, how about this," Fern laughed with him. "I'll make Phil say something dumber to cover it up, how would that be?"

"Excellent," the crowd had laughed with them through the whole exchange. Good, he was doing fine so far.

"So tell us what you'll be up to tomorrow, Danny," Phil started in."

"Well, I'm playing the charity World Cup game with the Women's and Men's National teams tomorrow afternoon."

"Are you nervous about that too?"

"Oh Yeah," Danny said this with emphasis. "The women are the best in the world right now, aren't they? So I'm going to look like complete rubbish next to them. I plan on being thoroughly embarrassed."

Both hosts laughed along with the audience this time. "So how does the whole thing work? Is it celebrities against the players? Or men against women? What kind of set up can we be expecting?"

"The teams are being split up with half of the women's team on each side and half of the participating men on each side. The 'celebrities' are going to be split up from there. Even we don't know which side we'll be playing on yet. They're not letting us in on it until the morning."

"Are they any people you hope are on your team?"

"I would love to play along side all of them, actually. It really is an honor to even be a part of this match at all. It's supposed to be the biggest charity match ever played in England."

"How has your training been?"

"Excellent, although I'm really sore all the time now. I just go home and lay on my couch every night. I don't have any energy left. But it's totally worth it to be surrounded by players of the caliber our national teams are."

"Is there anyone in particular you are really hoping to meet?"

"Anyone I can," Danny laughed. "I've always loved football ever since a friend of mine taught me when I was about eight."

"Well we wish you the best for tomorrow," Fern told him with her sweet smile. "And of course we wish you and boys the best of luck with everything you are working on this summer and with the newest album coming out in early fall."

"Thanks so much, are you going to be watching?"

"I've actually got tickets," Fern said. "So I'll be watching everything from the stands. I can't wait, I love football too."

"And are you hoping to meet anyone?" Danny asked her coyly.

She gave an almost girlish giggle, "I think everyone is hoping Beckham will show, and I'd love to meet him if he's there."

"Well best of luck on that front."

"Thanks, and thanks so much for being here today. Danny from McFly everyone."

Danny waved to the audience again and waited for the show to go to a commercial before standing from his chair.

"Excellent, Dear. As always."

"Thanks Fern, we're going to miss you."

"Oh, you'll see me around. I love you boys too much to stay away completely." She hugged him gently and he went back to the dressing room where Fletch was waiting for him. He needed to get back to training.

******

"Danny," the coach they had been working with yelled to him. "Focus, you're letting everything get by you. If you play like this tomorrow, the ladies are going to embarrass you even more than we planned for."

"Thanks, Coach," the sarcasm in his voice was evident. "Sorry, I'll do better."

He had just found out that the World Cup team was nearby hoping to train when they were done with the field. He was nervous. What if he ran into her before he was ready? It wouldn't really matter right? They were friends and, while they had lost touch, they practically grew up together. Weird as it sounds, they were like brothers, just like his mum had said, even though Max was, in fact, female. It hadn't felt that way at the time, she was just one of the guys then. He wondered if it would still be that way, even though she was now surrounded by more women, women that were clearly good influences, than she ever had been before.

"Alright everyone," the coach called them in. "we've got to give the team some time. I don't think they have done any training together since the gold metal game. We need to give them some time to get back in the groove."

The 'celebrities' all filed back to their respective locker rooms. Danny held back hoping to catch a glimpse of the team as they entered the pitch. He saw some of them trickle out of the women's room, but not Max and if he lingered any longer he figured he would look a bit weird and he didn't want to deal with that yet.

He went home and crashed early. He was wiped and he needed to be at the pitch early tomorrow for interviews with members of the press who would be present. He was hoping to not be to tired when he got there. The guys would be there, so would Vicky and his mum. He didn't want to embarrass the band or himself. Tomorrow was going to be long. He had all the pre-game stuff, then the match itself, and the after party with the players, coaches, and special guests. McFly had been asked to perform, and Tom had willingly agreed. Danny was just hoping he would still be awake and his voice would hold out for that long as they were performing something from the new album.

It was going to be a long day.

******

The pre-game interviews and everything had gone well and they had just been told if they would be on the red or blue teams. Danny was on the Red team. The whole of the red team now filled the locker room. Max wasn't on his team. His coaches were telling them some of their planned plays and told them what warm-ups they would be doing together so they could blend better with the team.

There would be twenty-four on each side so they could sub frequently for those unable to keep up the way regular athletes could. The World Cup team had twenty players, sixteen of which would be playing today, eight on each side. The others were nursing small injuries and didn't want to make them worse, but were sitting nearest the sidelines to shout encouragement at their teammates. Max was definitely playing. She was a big crowd drawer right now and the team had decided to use it to their best advantage. He heard she might even be doing a speech to thank everyone for coming for the charity event. Apparently, she was easily believable since it was common knowledge her childhood had been hard and this was a Children in Need event.

Eight men from the national team had chosen to play, four on each side. So there were twelve professional football players on each side and twelve others. Some of the other 'celebrities' were musicians as well, but there were also actors, politicians, other professional athletes including a successful Olympic swimmer, a rower who also had a gold, and two cricket players who had been "MVPs" at the Ashes.

Both teams would get time on the pitch alone before any spectators arrived. Danny was nervous to be playing with all these people who were so much better than him. According to the coach he was doing pretty well in comparison to most of the others, but then he had a coach when he was a kid that most people would kill for now. Max had run him hard so she would have someone to play against when they were little.

Each team had a coach of the women's team and a coach that had been working with the celebrities all week so they would know who to use for what and how to run the plays. Danny was amazed at the amount of planning that had gone into this match, right down to the plays. Everything was well thought out.

They ran their practice after the blue team was done and they passed them going into the locker room but Danny still didn't see Max, she must have gone in first.

The training went as well as could be expected for a bunch of people who had never played together before. The national players were really good about not taking control too much, passing to the others and bringing them into their plays. This would be a good game to play. It would be fun and, Danny hoped, it would be entertaining to watch for everyone in the crowd.

Back in the locker room they all suited up and waited for the moment they would be led onto the field. This would be introduced a bit different from a normal game. Each team would enter in a line, but each member would take off separately so the announcer would have time to say not only their names but also their 'claim to fame.'

The red team was first. Danny listened as each of the other players ahead of him was announced. The actual players were announced first, 'celebrities' after them. Danny was second to last. The guy who was last played a doctor in some U.S. based medical show. Danny didn't watch it because he didn't ever understand what was going on. All Danny could remember was that his name was Hugh and even though he looked older, he was still really good on the pitch.

"DANNY JONES," he ran out to the tumultuous applause. "Front man for pop/rock sensation McFly."

They called out the last player as he took his place on the line facing the entrance of the field house. The Blue team would file out next.

The women were called first, but Max didn't appear. This didn't make any sense. All the World Cup players on his team had been called out right away. Where could she be? The announcer was now through all the celebrities but didn't seem to done yet.

"And ladies and gentlemen please welcome the golden ball winner and best young player of the World Cup series…TOMA MAXWELL." The stands exploded as the tall woman burst from the doors pulling up behind her one of the largest British flags he had ever seen. It must have weighed a ton, her hands were clasped one low on the pole and one as high as she could reach and he could see every muscle in her arms straining as she ran the length of the field. Everyone was on their feet now, cheering and screaming wildly, players included. She passed the flag off when she reached the other end and ran back to her place in the line with the rest of her team, waving to the stands as she did so.

He was grinning at her like a mad man and he knew it too, but he just couldn't help it. Seeing her for the first time in over five years was awesome, even if it was from across a football pitch. She finally got to her place in line and looked directly across the pitch. She was looking right at him, he was sure of it. An even wider grin broke on her angular face. He got that super excited feeling in his stomach that he always got at gigs. The feeling like it was going to be great.

A whistle blew and the two teams ran toward each other, shaking hands with the person directly in front of them. Danny actually found he was upset that he had not been last because the doctor/actor guy got to shake Max's hand and he didn't. But as everyone else started to turn away, Max held out a fist. Danny hit it with his own, a huge smile on his face, and they both turned back to their teams. Their ritual was still intact.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Everyone, Thanks for reading!! Please Review and Let me know what you think. I'll take any feedback you want to give!**

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**MAX'S POV **(I'm not sure how this will turn out, let me know what you think)

Our coach had emailed out a list early this week of the celebrities who would be playing in our charity match. I doubt most of the girls looked at it, some of the younger girls might have but generally speaking famous people don't hold much appeal to us. We're just not those type of people. But I made the mistake of mentioning it Bells and she felt the need to see it, just so she could figure out who she would be seeing in a week. That was how I found out Danny would be playing.

I still haven't figured out what that kid was playing at. I know his band does a lot of stuff for charity. Bells has always kept me updated on what they are up to, because even though I take my fair share of responsibility at our not ever seeing each other anymore, I still care. When I was growing up, his family and Bells were all I really had. I even know some of their music, I would never admit this to him but sometimes it was nice to just listen to his voice come out of the speakers. It was almost like he was playing beside me again.

I had watched his interview yesterday morning and was impressed with how well he carried himself. To my knowledge, nothing of our previous connection had been released yet and he didn't mention it either. I wondered if he even knew I was on the team. I knew he had to be busy with McFly and kind of doubted he was the type of person watch news reports. It would be a great day either way. I was looking forward to seeing him and I had checked with management when I found he was coming and discovered he had locked in seats for his mum and Vicky too. Bells was obviously going to be there too. She wouldn't have missed it for the world. I had even managed to arrange it so she was sitting next to the Jones' although she didn't know it yet. Plus she was joining me for the after party. The actor from her favorite medical show was going to be there and I know she was itching to get an autograph.

We ran through training with our celebrities early that morning. Everything went well, they had been well prepared for this match. We were going to have a fun day. I was called off the field early to be prepped for my flag running and to practice the speech I was giving on behalf of BBC. Apparently, they wanted someone who could give a speech and make it 'relatable.' They even let me write it myself and I was looking forward to it.

They were ready to start and the red team was called forward and when they called Danny's name I felt that excited bubbling in my stomach that I feel before every match I play. This was going to be a fun, great day.

My team was called out in turn. I was last because I was running the flag across the pitch. It was huge and I could barely handle it by myself. But at this point I had no choice.

"TOMA MAXWELL," my name reverberated around the pitch and I took off from my spot behind the doors and pulled the flag up behind me. My arms were aching already but I was determined to get to the other side without faltering. Cheers reached my ears and egged me onward. Legs burning with the weight of the flag, I made it to the other end and handed it off, then made my way back to my team.

I looked across at the others and saw Danny's wide, childish grin greeting me. I felt my own smile expand in response. My best friend and I were playing together again. A whistle blew and we ran forward to meet the others. I got to shake the hand of the actor Bells had been raving about all week. Danny was next to him and I couldn't resist holding out my fist like I did every morning for almost eight years. He hit it back with a huge smile and we turned back to our teams.

I bolted up to the stage where the chairman of some board I had never heard of was introducing me. He handed me the mike.

"HELLO FOOTBALL FANS." The crowd shouted and applauded at the sound of my voice. That was encouraging. I wasn't nervous, but worried that I wouldn't be able to get my message across clearly.

"I want to start out by thanking everyone for being here today," more cheers.

"Today's charity event goes up for BBC's Children in Need campaign. I know you are all aware of the issues the Children in Need umbrella covers, but I'm here to tell you a bit more specifically what today's donation will be doing. There are children who are removed from their homes everyday because of violence or drug and alcohol problems in their families. These children are then shuffled off to random foster care or sometimes even left to their own devices.

"It is pretty common knowledge at this point that I was brought up in a household similar to those described. My father was violent and my mother, being unable to properly handle the position this put her in, turned to the bottle. When he left it got even worse. I'm not telling you this to make you feel sympathetic toward me or to try and bring down the awesome energy I have felt in here so far today, because clearly it all worked out for me in the end. I'm telling you how to make a difference. I'm telling you what can make the difference.

"There was a family in my life who kept me from becoming like my parents had been.

"When I was eight I got into a fistfight, which is where I first broke my nose. Something I'm sure everyone has noticed by now," I got some laughs at this. "The other kid's mom insisted on taking me to the hospital. From that point on it was like she had adopted my sister and myself into her home. We did homework there and played with her kids. She kept us safe and when my mother died she took my sister in so she could finish school where she grew up and wouldn't have to be with strangers.

"This made the difference in my life. Her son, who as I said, I punched the first day I met him, was the one who told me I could be a great player if I put my mind to it. He was the only person to ever have complete confidence in me. They are my family and I would not be here today without them. So could everyone please give a warm round of applause to my adopted mum, who is here today, her loving family, and everyone who had ever made a difference in the life of a child."

I joined in clapping and turned to where I knew Mrs. Jones was sitting. I had shed no tears, crying wasn't something I had ever really done. Wasted motion, I'd rather pent it up and expel it on the pitch. My part of the speeches was done and I made my way back to the field to warm up with the others.

Standing right behind me, just off the steps up to the stage was Danny. He had an even look on his face but his blue eyes were twinkling. I stepped down and he swept me into the biggest, most sincere hug I had ever received. I didn't even care that the whole crowd was watching and wee would undoubtedly be romantically linked together in the tabloids when the weekend was over. He didn't say anything; he didn't have to. I held him closely. My best friend and I were playing together again. That is what this day was going to be about for me.

We parted and I walked back to my team, no words necessary. My girls nodded at me to let me know it had been fine. I had practiced on a couple of them yesterday to make sure I got the point across properly. Some of the men's team was looking at me a bit strangely and the celebrities had gathered around telling me it was inspirational. Whatever, that part is over, let's play ball.

******

The game was amazing. Danny couldn't imagine playing like this the way professionals did. With McFly he got on stage and performed a routine they practiced over and over until it was perfect. Football wasn't like that because he could never know what the other team was going to do. It was a type of performance with way more adrenaline than performing on stage because you couldn't know the outcome.

The teams had been well divided, which reflected in the matched score. He could tell some of the professional players were holding back but respected their ability to so to keep the game entertaining for the audience and not embarrassing for the celebrities. Although the sometimes pulled out a ridiculous trick that they would never pull in a real game just to add to the entertainment value. One of the women tossed in an out of bounds ball by doing a front flip, using the ball instead of her hands. He was shocked at how efficient that ended up being. The ball went further than any of the others that day. He had played more than he had expected to. It turned out the World Cup team had a huge part in designing the event and they really wanted the teams to be a least half pro/ half celebs while playing, which he thought was good of them. They were more interested in what the public wanted than getting airtime themselves.

He had fun. Playing at the same time as Max was a rush in itself. She was playing her usual position of sweeper, settled between the defenders and the midfielders, and he was playing a right side midfielder. She had been careful to avoid any ridiculous tricks, but he knew she could do them. Instead, she chose to set up her teammates, usually celebrities for magnificent shots or plays. He was focusing on not making a fool of himself. Toward the end of the game he even managed to make a magnificent cross to set up one of his team members at the goal. He had enjoyed the day and was glad he had begged Fletch to get him in.

The game concluded, the blue team leading four goals to three. Danny was fine with the loss. He hadn't scored but had an assist to his name, which he thought was pretty good. Max hadn't scored either, but she had remained further back than she did during tournament play. She was good about not stealing anyone's glory even though she was the big name on the World Cup team right now. The Max he knew in the past would have been excited to have her hard work recognized. The Max he was seeing on the field now was more focused on her team, carefully leading them through the steps to succeed. He didn't know who she really was any more. But if they had fun at the party tonight he intended to keep in touch at the very least, providing she wanted that too.

Shaking hands with the opposing team afterward was one of those things that had to be different in real matches because the air of geniality was so high. Everyone was laughing together, congratulating each other, and commenting on the amount of fun they had.

Danny ran up to Max who was talking to other World Cup team members. He was behind her, but the girls she was talking to smiled at him as he arrived. They clapped Max on the shoulder and walked around her. He thought he noticed some flirty grins coming him way, chose to smile back politely, and gave a full on million watt smile to Max as she turned around.

Her smile was a clone of his own. She reached out and punched him in the shoulder in greeting, which was something else they always used to do. But he had forgotten how hard she could hit and knew that with all the added muscle it was probably even harder. He unconsciously rubbed it while giving her his opening line.

"Great game," he told her, hoping he wouldn't come off too dorky.

"Thanks," she was clearly on a bit of an adrenaline high. "You too. That cross was brilliant." Her voice alone made him feel like he was back at home with their sisters eating cookies his mum had baked fresh after school.

"Let's go find Mum, Vicky, and Isabella, she is here right?"

"Of course she is, that actor guy who plays the American doctor is here. She's crazy about him. I think she's been plotting a way to get an autograph all week."

"Hugh's a good guy. I trained with him all week so I don't mind introducing them tonight at the party if she comes."

"She'll love you forever. She's definitely coming. She says it's time for her to take advantage of my 'celebrity status' while it lasts."

Danny laughed. He hung his arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the stands. "Let's go say hi to our girls, okay?"

"Excellent," they took off together, heading in the direction of the three women waving at them from the stands as the rest of the bleachers slowly filed out.

"Were they sitting together the whole time?" Danny asked, "Or did they find each other afterwards?"

"When I found out you were playing, I checked to see what seats you had reserved for your mum and Vicky and made sure Bells' seat was next to theirs. She didn't know either, so I bet she was shocked she sat down."

"Nice touch."

"I thought so."

By the time they made it to the stands, the three women had made it to the bottom bleachers, but there were still several kids lining the railings hoping some of the players would be by for autographs. Danny was amazed at how well Max took to the kids and signed the pictures of her they each seemed to have. He was asked for a couple autographs but she was clearly the favourite of the day. It didn't bother him at all, in fact he found it enjoyable to watch her talk to them about football, what positions they played, and their favourite teams. He took it upon himself to get the girls down on the pitch so they wouldn't be surrounded by the kids, who Max continued to entertain for quite some time.

The last kid she signed a picture for was a little girl with shining blue eyes and dishwater blonde hair.

"You remind me very much of my favourite person in the whole world," she said to the little girl, who couldn't have been older than six.

The little girl blushed and smiled, "Really? Who?"

"My sister," Max said with a smile as she crossed her X at the end of her name. She signed everything with a simple "MAX" is big block-like lettering. "Keep smiling, okay?"

"Okay," the little girl showed off a huge grin with her two front teeth missing. "Thanks," and she ran off to her waiting parents.

Max made her way over to them by maneuvering around the people still left on the field but as soon as she had a clear shot she took off running. She had Danny's mum wrapped in a hug so tight it looked like she would never let go. She moved on to Vicky, then Bells, who was jumping up and down in excitement.

Max could tell she was trying really hard not to blurt out what she was so excited she about.

"What?" Max sighed with amused exasperation.

Bells couldn't hold it in any longer, "Danny's going to introduce me to THE Dr. House."

Max laughed and wrapped her strong arm around her sister's shoulders. "I'm so happy for you," the happy sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Let's get dinner together before the party," Danny's suggestion was well received and they went out together, as a family.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey EveryOne, Please let me know what you think. I would love to hear from All of You.**

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Max and Danny showed up early at the after party to take care of press. Danny had met his stylist after dinner to prep him for the party and performance, which was a big cause for heavy laughter from Max. She sat by his chair and made pokes at the fact he had someone doing his hair, commenting that she was at least happy he had stopped straightening it. When she had seen interviews with him when they first began and felt like she was looking at a stranger. When he reverted back to his normal curls, she felt like it was him again. Her hair was standing on end. It was its usual sloppy mess that still managed to look right on her. One of the girls on the team had put some crap in her hair after their showers right after the game. They did that a lot because they knew if they didn't she would just let it hang down, which would look silly because of the choppy cut and the wild layers.

Danny had drawn the line at makeup for the party knowing that it wasn't televised and he would only be singing one or two songs. Max would have ragged on him forever if he had worn makeup because she certainly wasn't going to. He was already taking way more time to get ready than she had and he would have to deal with her reminding him of that fact all evening. He was wearing a nice shirt and jeans, nothing fancy but dressier than normal and it took him quite a while to pick it out. Whereas Max had grabbed the first thing out of her dresser and ran back downstairs to meet Danny in their cab. She had left Bells at home to get ready, she would meet them there.

Max let her flip-flops hang off her feet from where she was sitting on the vanity. Her immensely huge cargo pants hung low on her hips and her black t-shit was resting just at the waistline. The big yellow letters across the front said GET YOUR KICKS and football under the letters. The rest of McFly began filing in around her and, as it was really the first time she had ever met them, she hopped down to do it properly.

"Tom, Harry, Dougie…this is Max. I've talked about her before," the guys did a good job of not reacting with complete shock. Which he was pretty sure they must be because as much as he had mentioned her when they first began, he didn't know that he ever mentioned she was a female or that she was a famous footballer. Although the latter was because he didn't know.

"Max, these are the guys; Dougie, Tom, and Harry." She shook each of their hands in turn and said it was great to meet them all and included that it was nice to see Tom again. He knew they would be surprised at her grip. He remembered her as being tough and wanting to give a first impression that would have people recalling her as such.

"Well, I'm going go start my press cycle. They've got me lined up for every paper that could possibly show up," Max strode from the room after saying a polite goodbye to all of them.

"She's got a commanding presence, doesn't she?" Harry said. All three boys were watching her leave the room.

"That sure hasn't changed," Danny said turning back to the mirror.

"When did I meet her before?" Tom asked confused. "She said it was nice to meet me again. I never really met anyone from Bolton before except your family."

"Not true," Danny replied, realizing what Max had been referring to. "She was there the day of my audition. Probably making fun of all the guys trying out for V."

Tom's gaze went over their heads for a moment. He was clearly trying to remember her. "I think I actually thought she was a dude."

"That's not as crazy as you might think," Danny said. "If you didn't actually speak to her back then, you probably wouldn't have know at all. She looked like a guy and without the voice to make you realize otherwise, I can see the mistake happening. I actually barely thought of her as being a girl at the time either. My mum says we were like brothers."

"Did you really break her nose?" Dougie asked after watching him for a second.

"What?" Danny was stunned, _how had they figured that out?_

"Well," Tom began when Dougie looked to him for help. "We were sitting by your mum at the game. When Max gave her speech she looked right at her when she clapped and you mum started balling. Vicky and the girl on the other side of her hugged your mum real tight. The other girl starting saying how Max was right and they wouldn't be who they are without her. Then Max stepped off the platform and you hugged her. We kind of put it together from there."

_Darn my smart friends._

"So, did you really break her nose?" Dougie repeated.

"Yeah," Danny finally caved. "When we were like eight. She punched me in the stomach, then I hit her in the nose, then she gave me a black eye, and in the end my mum took her to the hospital. We were best friends from that point onward."

"That's crazy," Harry said. "And now she's a gold metal player in the World Cup. Why didn't you tell us?"

Danny was embarrassed by this a bit, "I actually didn't know. I just found out when I found that Sports Illustrated I brought over to your house two weeks ago, Tom."

"No way," Tom was amazed. "How does that even happen?"

"Got me," Danny replied. "But I'm happy I got to see her again. Plus her sister. You guys will have to meet Bells too. She'll be here tonight."

The guys finished getting ready and headed out to start doing press.

*****

I still had a lot of interviews to get through, but they were going quickly so far. I felt like my picture had been taken a billion times but luckily didn't really feel obligated to smile for all of them because I'm the 'bad girl.' So people don't really expect me to be all that pleasant. I answered all the questions easily. They were simple and most of them were repetitive so I could give the same answers over and over again. I had been instructed to mention Children in Need often, but try to make it sound like I wasn't plugging, which is almost impossible if you didn't know.

I was over half way through my interviews when I was thrown a new question.

"Max, are you involved in a romantic relationship with Danny from McFly?"

I had assumed that would be coming soon, but decided early on not to prepare an answer in advance. I planned on winging it so the answer seemed natural. I didn't want him to be swamped with extra attention right now.

"No," I let out a chuckle. "We're just very good friends from quite some time ago and haven't seen each other in a while."

"The hug on the field seemed quite intimate, care to comment?"

"Sure, it was two best friends who hadn't seen each other in quite some time hugging. It was hardly intimate, there were thousands of people watching." I let the answer roll off with a shrug.

"How long has it been since you've seen each other?"

This was getting a bit ridiculous. "About five years. When I found out he was playing I was excited because I knew how much his participation would increase the number of underage viewers. That's important because they are the ones we need to get the message out to now, because they will be able to make a difference in the future." See how I slipped that in there, pretty good, huh?

"So his participation was based on Children in Need, not on you?"

"Of course. If you don't believe me, just check McFly's history. They have had number one singles for both comic relief and sport relief. They even did some work in Africa themselves and worked quite hard to being the message back to their fan base."

"I suppose I can't argue with that. Are you looking forward to their performance tonight?"

"I'm looking forward to everything about this evening. I want to be able to share the evening with all the people who made today a possibility. This charity means a lot to me and the team and we are grateful to everyone who participated, including the spectators and everyone at home."

"Thanks for you time, Max."

"My pleasure."

I moved on to the next reporter. Throughout the rest of the interviews I did receive some more Danny questions but nothing compared to that earlier interview. I answered them all the same and finished my queue of reports. I should probably find Danny and let him know how many questions were related to the two of us. Letting him in on my answers would probably be a good idea too, just so that they matched up in case anyone was trying to catch us in lies. But I was pretty sure he had already begun his interviews and going up to him now would attract even more attention. I could only hope for the best.

*****

The performance went well and the McFly boys were happy with their song choice. It had gone over really well and they had learned that it was in the running for the BBC charity single that year and were excited about that.

Max was hard to miss, even in this crowd. She was tall and her wild hair attracted attention wherever she went. She had been watching them but kids of other players were coming up to her to greet her, clearly she knew all of them. He even saw some suits slide up to her. They must be some of the 'special guests' that had been mentioned earlier. Danny was able to find her with little difficulty after they played but saw she was still deep in conversation with a women dressed in a really nice suit. He was going to go up to her as soon as the woman left but another man dressed up too much for this type of party came up to her as well. He managed to get in after that but realized after a careful scan of the room that there were definitely other business people here to talk to her. He wondered what all that was actually about but didn't worry too much about it.

"Hey Max," he called, hammering the fist she held out to him as soon as he walked into her line of sight. "Did you get a bunch of ridiculous 'are you dating Danny?' questions too? Or was that just me?"

"Oh yeah," she answered rolling her eyes. "I got some. They even questioned your motives as to why you joined to tournament in the first place. But I set them straight. I said all you had to do was look at your track record to see how often you'd been involved in charities in the past and that clearly this is something you do all the time. How did you handle them?"

"Typical answers, said we've known each other a long time, rarely got to see each other, and were glad to get back in touch. You?" He was glad she didn't think he had jumped on the tournament for her, even though he had. That could be a secret he kept to himself.

"Pretty much the same," she answered with a shrug.

"Is Bells here yet?" Danny prompted. "I want to introduce her to the guys and I promised her I'd introduce her to Hugh as well."

"Great, her television idol and McFly all in the same day. Are you trying to give her a heart attack?"

"Isabella's a McFly fan?"

"Kind of. She only got into you guys because of you but her friends were all so crazy about you it rubbed off just a little bit. Although she's never been crazy about it, she still has your albums and everything. Her friends were real nutters though. It was common knowledge she lived with your mum, so girls started asking to come over all the time and one girl even asked her to steal a pair of your underwear."

"Wow."

"I know."

"I never really thought about what kind of effect it would have on her. Vicky was already out of school and mum didn't really get any unwanted attention because of it, but Bells must have had a time of it."

"She handled it well. My understanding was she kind of laughed it all off but basically ignored the people who treated her that way."

"I'm a bit surprised she doesn't resent me at all."

"No way, I mean she was frustrated for a while, but she loves you too much for it to have really bothered her. You were like her big brother, you know?"

"Still amazing."

"Not really. She's a good person who knows which people helped to shape who she is. You are one of them, and she loves you. And there she is." Max pointed to the tall, thin blond coming toward them through the crowd.

Bells was wearing a bright yellow flowing top and skinny jeans over her thin frame. Her heels made he almost match up to Max's height. Her blond hair fell in waves around her face and made her bright blue eyes pop and her angelic smile seem even brighter. The scarf she had gotten from the BBC committee was tied gracefully around her neck. It had multicolored polka dots on it like the Children in Need bear always wore over his eye. Women were getting satin scarves and men were getting bandanas. Max had, of course, requested a bandana instead of a scarf and now wore it proudly tied around her upper left arm, just above her bicep. Danny's was tied around his wrist, the other band members were sporting theirs the same way, except Dougie, who, of course, had his tied around his head.

"Hi Danny," she chirped in her happy voice. Danny had always been amazed that her northern accent didn't seem as slow as most others. She had a way of making it sound smooth and cheerful. His made him sound slow and dopey and Max's was low and powerful and could be even slower than his when she got really angry.

"Hey Bells," he reached out to give her a familial hug, which she graciously accepted. "Let's introduce you around. We'll start with Hugh if that's ok with you."

"Oh yes, yes, yes," she replied with enthusiasm, clearly trying not to jump up and down at the thought.

"You coming Max?" Danny turned his head to her.

"Yeah, I guess," she shrugged. "Someone's going to have to make sure she doesn't drool all over him."

Bells shot her a mean look, but was too happy to even pretend to be angry.

Danny led them through the crowd to a side table where the actor was sitting with his family. He waved and the actor waved back and beckoned them forward. The two men shook hands like old friends and the actor introduced Danny to his wife and three children before Danny turned to the two girls and introduced them to the family. Bells was practically shaking with excitement but as it turns out so were his kids.

They all turned to their dad as if asking permission for something. He nodded and rolled his eyes toward the three guests as if in apology for what was about to happen. His youngest, a girl about fourteen, turned to Danny with her big eyes and told his what a great performance they had and asked for his autograph with a blush creeping up her cheeks. The two older boys immediately pounced on Max asking her a variety of questions about playing football and the World Cup. Both handled the situation well, it was easy. Danny loved his fans and Max loved football. Plus Bells was left to chat with Hugh and his wife, which made her just as happy.

Danny, Max, and Bells stayed with Hugh and his family for some time, discussing the match and the charity among other things. Time was dwindling and the three bid the others a good time and went off to see the rest of the guys.

Tom and Gi were dancing on the dance floor set up in the party hall. Harry was chatting up some girls over by the sound equipment, one of whom had played that day. He thought she was an actress of some kind, but he couldn't remember what. The others looked like models or something. Dougie was looking lost beside Harry. The look on his face told Danny he was trying not to say something that would get him into trouble. So Danny decided to start there.

"Hey Doug," he called and waved him over.

Dougie politely excused himself from the conversation and made his way over.

"What were you trying not to say?" Danny asked immediately.

Dougie was used to the guys reading him so well and answered immediately, "That girl had the biggest rack ever!" He received a smack on the back of the head from Danny.

Bells dodged her head around Danny's shoulder to look at the group Harry was still standing with. "Well she should," she said after a close look. "She's a Victoria Secret Model. I think she wore the million dollar bra in last year's fashion show."

Dougie had just noticed Bells standing between Max and Danny and was only slightly ashamed of himself for saying something so rude. But smiled readily when she made her comment. She hadn't been offended by him and he found that endearing. Most women looked at him like he was evil when he said stuff like that. Max hit him gently and told him not to be degrading to women, but then turned to her sister.

"Are they real?"

Bells looked closely again. "I don't think so, but whoever did them is really good."

Both guys were looking at them in shock. Max quickly explained, "Bells is studying to be a doctor and worked under a plastic surgeon for a while. Apparently she had a real eye for it."

"Yeah," Isabella sighed. "But I really hated it. I got really sick of normal women coming in thinking they weren't pretty enough. I couldn't have handled it as a profession. I didn't mind working with burn victims as much but the stories were all so traumatizing. I've decided on pediatrics instead, at least for now."

"That's awesome," Danny said swinging his arm over her shoulder in a one armed hug. "Remember when you used to always want to be the one who put on our band aids and wraps when Max and I used to come in after a game of football or a fight?"

"Yeah," Bells was thinking back now too. "Vicky was the first person to tell me I should be a doctor and your mum helped me pick out all my classes and prep work so I could get into pre-med my last year of school."

Max remembered all this too. But her mind had cut back to all the times she had beaten on Danny. When he had finally gotten bigger than her when they were about thirteen it had stopped but up until then they had some pretty bad ones. Bruises and scrapes had been a common thing in the Jones household and they both always got into trouble with Danny's mum for fighting. The women hated violence in all forms and worked tirelessly to make sure the kids all saw it that way too. That was a big part of why Max was still so ashamed of her actions when she had come to school at the beginning. Mrs. Jones would have been so disappointed in her.

"Oh, Dougie this is Max's sister, Isabella," Dougie held out a hand and Bells took it. "Bells, this is one of my best mates, Dougie."

The four of them talked easily and Tom and Gi joined them after a while. Danny introduced them as well and Gi and Bells took to each other right away. Danny could tell Gi was intimidated by Max, but that must have been pretty normal because Max didn't even seem to notice.

"MAX," a small voice suddenly screamed from nowhere. Max smiled before she even turned to look for it. A small boy with curly brown hair and big watery blue eyes was bounding through the crowd toward their small group and Max bent to catch him as he leaped straight into her arms.

"Hey Buddy," Danny noticed her whole voice and demeanor change almost instantly. "Why aren't you in bed yet? It's late."

"People keep stopping Mommy to talk so she said I could come find you until she's done," the little boy grinned at her. He couldn't have been more than four.

"Where's your Daddy?" Max sounded happy, but Danny could hear her digging for information.

"He's talking to guys in suits," the boy stated simply. "They look boring though. Mommy asked him to take me home, but he said he was busy."

"I see," darkness clouded Max's vision for a moment but Danny watched as she pushed back her obvious anger to play with this kid.

He opened his huge eyes and looked around the circle. "You remember Bells, right Chris?" He nodded slowly. Realizing how many people were watching him, he became suddenly shy. She told him Dougie, Giovanna, Tom, and Danny's names each time the little one held out a tiny hand to shake theirs. It was one of the most adorable things Danny had ever seen. Max introduced him as Christopher. He was the only son of her closest friend on the team, Bridget Collins.

Max and Chris were clearly very close, it was like watching a completely different version of the person Danny thought he knew. Bells caught him staring at Max and smiled, she nodded her head backward to imply that she wanted to talk to him for a minute alone. He followed her past Harry and his models to a quieter corner where they both sat at a high-stooled table.

"It's kind of weird, isn't it?" Bells asked him when he had taken his seat.

"What do you mean?" he wasn't quite sure what she was talking about.

"Max playing with little kids, her whole attitude changing when Chris is around."

"Yeah, a bit. But I saw her with those kids at the stadium when they were asking for autographs, she was great with them."

"Yeah, it really blew my mind at first, but I've gotten kind of used to it. You've known her the longest, was she like that before? I couldn't remember her ever being around kids when we were younger."

"Well, I guess the only one I can think of is you," Danny was a bit surprised by this line of questioning. "She was always looking after you and making sure you were safe and happy. Do you remember your childhood much?"

"Sure I do," Bells looked confused by the question. "I was always with Max and you guys."

"Right, but I mean before that. You met us when you were seven. What do you remember from before that? Who took care of you?"

"Well, Max did, I guess. She always made breakfast and dinner, she packed our lunches, made sure we got on the bus, took care of me when I was sick, and read me stories at night."

"What did your mom and dad do?"

"Mum didn't do anything, she was a drunk, you know that. And Dad used to hit Max a lot. He said she was the bad one. He never hit me, he pretty much ignored me all together."

"So you realize that Max got to be good with kids because she had been taking care of you for her whole life. She knew if she didn't, no one else would. She learned a lot in those years before you met us and even more after meeting my mum. At least, that was my understanding."

Bells looked stunned. "I guess I never thought of it that way before. I mean, I knew Max and I were alone more than most kids but I never really thought about her having to take of me. That was just the way it was."

"Don't tell her I said anything, okay?"

"Sure," Isabella looked at Danny curiously. "But why not?"

"I've been out of her life for so long. If she found out I was already analyzing her, she would flip. There is no way she'd let me back in."

"You want back in?" Bells asked with a huge smile.

"Of course, she was my best friend. She's different now, but so am I. I'd love to have you girls as part of the family again and I know Vicky and Mum feel the same."

Bells blushed with pleasure, "Well, I want you all back too. I can't speak for Max and I don't think she'd ever say it in so many words, but I think all of her interviews recently speak for her."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

They made their way back to the group and saw Dougie helping Chris tie his polka dot bandana around his head, just like Dougie's was. Chris was bouncing up and down in Max's arms he was so excited about it. He had decided he wanted to look 'cool' like Dougie did. Danny was impressed. Dougie was uncomfortable around really little kids. He always felt like he was going to break them, but he seemed to be having fun with Christopher and Max.

A powerful blond woman was making her way toward them now, a look of frustration twisting her beautiful features.

"MUMMY," Christopher exclaimed from Max's arms. "Are you done with you meetings yet?"

"Yes Baby," came her cool, clear voice. She extended her arms and he moved gracefully from Max to his mother. Danny was watching them closely and noticed the silent meaningful look exchanged between the two women. He wondered what was wrong, but based on the dark look that shadowed Max's face when Chris mentioned his dad earlier, that was part of it.

"Let me know if you need me later this week," Max said meaningfully. "I'm around with nothing to do."

"Thanks girl," Bridget said. "I'm probably going to take you up on that."

"Bye Chris, be a good boy this week, okay?"

"Totally," he answered with a giggle and held out a fist to Max, who hit it, just like she and Danny always did. He smiled at the memorable action and walked up to her as Bridget left with her son. The expression on Max's face was one he recognized. It was the look she had gotten when they were kids and someone had messed with Bells, it was the look that told him if he didn't intervene someone was going to get hurt, at least that is what it used to mean. Clearly it wasn't his place to get in the way anymore, but that didn't mean he couldn't ask.

"What's up?"

She looked at him incredulously. Yep, that was the look that said it was not any of his business and to stay away. Fine, he could do that.

Two other girls from Max's team started lingering nearby. He was used to women acting like this or he probably wouldn't have noticed. Max sighed, put a fairly real looking grin on her face and turned to them.

"Hey Britt, Jayne," she said smoothly. "How are you enjoying the party so far?"

They took the bait and stepped into the group. "It's been great, your performance was amazing," Danny knew this one was Britt because he had met her this morning on the field because she had been on his team. They were clearly younger members of the team, maybe even younger than Max.

"Wasn't the game great too?" the girl with raven black hair, Jaynet he assumed, asked with enthusiasm, staring straight at Danny as she said it.

"It was really good," Max commented before he had a chance. "I heard that we hit record numbers for the number of people watching the game from home, which is of course great news."

"Yeah, really great," Britt was looking at Dougie like he was a piece of meat.

"Oh," Max said, feigning forgetfulness, "Jayne and Britt this is Danny, Dougie, Tom, Giovanna, and you already know Bells."

Hands were shaken and flirty glances were given. Both were pretty and muscular. They were also both shorter than Max by a couple inches. None of the women on the team wore heels because of the effects they could have on their knees, so what you saw was pretty much what you got. If Danny remembered correctly Britt was a striker, but didn't play often because there was a more experienced one already a part of the team. He had no idea what position Jayne played.

"Do you guys want to dance?" Britt asked her gaze landing on Dougie. He glanced up at Max with what Danny knew to be his 'Please Help Me Look' but Max just smiled and stood out of the way of the dance floor. Britt extended her hand to Dougie and knowing he was expected to take it, he caved and followed her.

Jayne gave Danny the same offer and he politely accepted, she was pretty and athletic after all. From the dance floor Danny could see the amused look on Max's face as she watched them, but more noticeable was that as soon as she was left alone by their group she was approached by another woman in a suit. That was at least the third he had seen so far the evening. He wondered what that could be about. His first thought was marketing managers wanting her for endorsements but they always ran through the celebrity's agent so that couldn't be it.

The song playing ended but it was clear Jayne was not ready for Danny to go. Looking over at Dougie, Danny saw the boy was having the same problem. Danny was fine with it and started dancing again.

"Let's go grab a drink," Jayne called over the music several minutes later.

Danny agreed and walked with her to the bar. Britt followed with Dougie trailing behind her. They all grabbed beers and sat at a table nearby.

"We're having to another party tomorrow night," Britt said in a nonchalant tone. "Just some friends of ours. Do you think you might want to come?"

"Yeah," Danny answered, "I think that could be arranged." He gave his charming smile and hoped Dougie followed his lead. The way he looked at it, these girls were practically inviting them into their beds. He knew he had a reputation for being a womanizer and Dougie wasn't far behind, but women liked sleeping with famous men for some reason and he took advantage of it, just like the women were taking advantage of him. As long as they were consenting adults who weren't to drunk to make rational decisions, Danny was fine with it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Public Service Announcements: First, I have changed Chapter one so that it correctly says Danny sang Bittersweet Symphony at his Audition, not a Springsteen song. Second, I was just told I had the anonymous reviews thing disabled so you couldn't review unless you were signed in. I've fixed that so please review if you get a chance.**

**I also want to Thank Elle and McFlYiNgHiGh for being my first reviewers – it made me so happy.**

******

If I am approached by one more manager at this party I might hit something. It is ridiculous how many offers I'm getting when we're supposed to be supporting Children in Need. It has been really frustrating. The tally to date is Nike, Victoria Secret Sport, Adidas, and Gatorade along with magazines wanting to do articles. Let me tell you what, this is what I get for deciding I didn't want an agent. Because I'm now responsible for all these decisions myself, people are bombarding me. It's like they think that, because I'm a jock, they can talk to into anything by using quick language and fancy words. HELLO, I'm completing a University degree thank you very much. I'm not a moron. They seem to think they'll be able to manipulate me into doing anything they want. Maybe I should change my mind on the whole agent thing, I'll have to think about it.

Danny and Dougie had momentarily disappeared with Britt and Jayne, but I had expected as much. Both of them had been speaking to me directly after the game had finished, when Dan came up to talk to me and had mentioned wanting to meet him at the party. I'm fine with that, they can all have their fun.

On top of the whole sponsorship/endorsement thing I have to worry about now, I'm also freaking out a bit about Bridget's family. Her husband is a jerk, plain and simple. He always talked down to her, even when others were around. He called her a bad mother for leaving Chris so much and told her he couldn't believe he'd married her because she was such a bad wife. But since the World Cup hype had started he'd been even worse. Based on everything I've seen, he's basically gotten to the point where he's verbally abusing her. I think he's doing it because he wants her to think she wont be able to get anyone else so she wont leave him, because right now she's got endorsement deals pouring in too. She was an assistant captain, starting left side defender, and known for being a total powerhouse. But she was also the mother of our little group, other women had kids too, but she was the most played and took care of the rest of us when we were in tournament mode too.

Her husband was her agent and would not only be getting a cut of the endorsements she accepted but would also be splitting any of that money with her in a divorce. He was pulling for her to take as many as possible because he must know she would leave him sooner or later and he was trying to make it as far in the future as possible, until he milked his cash cow for all she was worth. Basically he makes me sick and if he wasn't Chris's father, I probably would have seriously injured him already.

Her endorsement offers were coming from a completely different area than mine. The articles they wanted to write about her would go in motherhood and women's health magazines. They also wanted her to promote healthy lifestyle foods and stuff like that. You know, like keeping your body healthy after having kids, plus making sure your kids had good nutrition too. She was just as sought after as I was, just by a very different audience. She kind of reminded me of what Dara Torres was during the Olympics. She was the swimmer who was 41, the oldest to qualify by a lot and had a kid just two years before or something. She was a hero to middle aged women and to mothers everywhere, letting them know they were always able to achieve their dreams, regardless of age or other perceived limitations. That was what Bridget Collins was to the English public right now.

Sometimes I would swear her husband cared more about the money his own son. I can't even believe he was so busy talking to marketers that he wouldn't take his son home for bed. I was hoping she would leave him soon, but it wasn't my place to say anything, although she had discussed it with me briefly with me in the past and I was hoping she would do so again. She was the biggest influence on me on this team and I could only pray that she would let me help her out too.

I was tired, a lot of the promo stuff had died down and now it was just a bunch of people drinking and being stupid, so I didn't feel bad about leaving. Danny and Dougie were still absent, so I tapped Harry on the shoulder. He turned and the VS model he had been chatting with looked over her shoulder at me. He looked annoyed at being bothered but she practically jumped at me.

"Oh My Gosh," she squealed. "You're Toma, right? I'm here with our marketing manager tonight and he told me to keep a look out for you. You're going to be the new rep for VS sport, right? It's so great, you're really going to love it."

"Actually," I replied. "I haven't really…"

"Wait 'til you meet everyone. They are all so sweet and awesome," she continued as though she hadn't heard me say anything at all.

"That's great, but…"

"I wonder if they'll let you model everything too. You're totally tall enough and you got a good shape. Normally I would say you are too muscular but because you're doing the sport stuff, maybe that's ok. The shoots are really fun, maybe they'll even let you do the fashion show. Oh My Gosh, we're going to have so much fun. When are you starting?"

"Well," I tried again. "I haven't actually decided either way…"

"Oh," she giggled. "Right." And she sent me a quick wink. It was like she thought I just couldn't talk about it yet. But I really don't think I want that one. Plus she kind of turned me off of it a bit.

Seeing that he wouldn't get anywhere with his model until I was gone, Harry asked if there was anything he could do.

"Yeah," I said, relieved to be able to give my request and get away from this girl. "I'm going home but I haven't been able to give Danny my new number yet. Could I put it in your phone and you give it to him. He seems to have disappeared with Dougie and some of my teammates."

"Sure," he pulled the phone from his pocket. "Where's Tom?"

"I think he and Gi just left too." I programmed in my number.

"Alright," he took his phone back and was already turning back but his model needed to ask a couple more questions first.

"Danny? Like Danny Jones?" She gushed. "Are you guys, like, together? Because you would be really cute. Although he's not really that tall and you are, so maybe not because you wouldn't match up so well."

"No," I tried to answer simply. "We're not together. Bye." And I took off before she could say anything else. Harry could have her. How annoying can you be?

I grabbed Bells at the bar and told her I was leaving. She had met everyone she wanted to and was game to come along with me. We hailed a cab outside the hall and jetted home. Both of us falling into our beds almost immediately.

******

Yesterday I had ignored the business cards and offers pretty well, but it was Monday now and I couldn't avoid them anymore. I was looking over all the cards I had gotten and trying to remember the conversations with all the reps I had spoken to. There was so much to consider when making these decisions.

The good news about Gatorade was that they currently only hosted five football players, three of which only endorsed in the US. Another was Brazilian and only one was from the UK, although both of these did endorsements here, both were men. I would be the first UK female to endorse Gatorade and I knew that was the kind of thing I wanted. I wanted to stand out and be a good example to kids.

Nike had their issues, what with all their sweatshops in third world countries and everything. But Adidas had scandals like that too. Based on internet research, Nike was the only company in their industry who was giving the public information about how they were trying to change these problems. Their website gave a complete run down on all the procedures they were implementing to try and change the conditions of people working for them. I had to respect that.

Victoria Secret Sport was mainly yoga stuff and I don't do yoga – EVER. Not that it isn't great or whatever, but it is so not for me. So that didn't really make sense. Plus that girl with Harry had really turned me off of the whole idea.

Most of the other stuff made no sense at all, like fast food joints and stuff like that. What self-respecting athlete does promo for greasy burgers and fries? The answer should be none, but there is always that group of sell-outs, but I'm not one of them.

The magazines were pretty typical sport magazines and stuff, but I was also approached by Cosmopolitan UK, which I thought would be pretty interesting. I don't know that they have ever had an athlete on the cover before. Usually it's some actress or singer who is too skinny for her own good. So I thought that might be fun too. They wanted to do the interview and photos as soon as possible, even though I would probably wouldn't be on the cover until October. It was early-August now and they needed more time. Which was fine with me too.

The decisions were not easy and I decided to seek the help of a pro. I called up Bridget. She had been in my position eight years ago. She was the younger crazy talented player that year and probably would have captained the following year if she hadn't been pregnant with Christopher. She fought her way back after that to get back into shape and regain her place on the team. It had been a battle but she had come back just as strong, if not more so than before. She started every game and was granted the AC spot for being such a great leader.

She would be making these decisions right now too and I knew she would be more than willing to talk them through with me.

"I need help," I said into the phone when she answered.

She laughed, "With what exactly?"

"All these endorsement things," I sighed. "I don't know what to choose or even what to do once I have chosen."

"I'm filing through all my offers right now too. Why don't we get all of our information together on our own and meet on Thursday night?"

"Sounds great, want to get together at my place? You can bring Christopher and Bells will be here too. We can make dinner."

"Perfect, one less day for me to have to cook." Bridget hated cooking, but her husband never did it because 'it was women's work' so she was always doing it anyway. How they ever ended up married is beyond me. If he believes all this stuff, why did he marry one of the UK's most promising young football stars? I hate that guy.

Bridget and I said our good-byes and hung up. Right as I was did so my phone rang again. I didn't recognize the number and feared it would be another marketing agency. But I figured I might as well deal with all the offers now, because having to call back would be even more work, so I picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Wow, I've never heard so much contempt through a phone line before," Danny's voice carried through the receiver. "Who did you think it was? Please don't say me, because my feelings will be really hurt."

I laughed. "No, I was thinking it might be another advertiser looking for an endorsement. They are driving me crazy."

"Don't you have an agent or a manager for that?" He sounded confused.

"No," I answered, realizing how dumb this would sound to someone who had a manager since he was seventeen. "I didn't think it was necessary. I still don't actually, I just have to get all this stuff out of the way. What's up?"

"Well, I was just thinking we should all get together sometime this week," Danny's voice sounded enthusiastic. "You and Bells, maybe some of the guys. I can even invite Fletch if you have any questions about your endorsement stuff."

"Yeah, I guess that would be ok. I know Bells is all excited to have you around again. I had forgotten how much she adored you as a kid. It's been like she's nine all over again. 'Danny said this. Danny is so sweet.' I heard nothing but that all day yesterday."

"Really?" he sounded touched. "That makes me feel all warm and happy on the inside. Would Thursday be ok? It's the only day we really have off this week. Plus we're leaving Friday night for some gig this weekend in Manchester."

"Well, I've already got plans with Bridget and Christopher on Thursday."

"Bring them," Danny said easily, I could hear that he really meant it too. "The more the merrier. I'll cook, well Tom and I will cook, well really Giovanna will probably end up doing a lot of it so we don't screw it up."

"How about this," I offered up. "I'll check with Bridget and if it's ok with her, I'll come over early and help you cook and she can come later with Bells and Chris. That way Tom's poor girlfriend doesn't end up having to make all the food."

Danny willingly agreed so I called Bridget to check if that would work. She seemed hesitant at first, but agreed when I told her she really needed a night out. She could relax and there would be a bunch of people to watch and play with Christopher. She was going to meet Bells at our place because it was between her place and Danny's and come over here after we had dinner all ready.

I let Danny know and went back to my research. I know a lot of people probably pick their endorsements based on how much money they'll be making or how much exposure they will get, but that is not my way of doing things. I made calls to the reps I talked to at the party asking what kind of ads they were looking at creating. I asked them to send me pitched ideas, most agreed to fax them to me by Tuesday evening. So I would be able to look over them before meeting Bridget. I devoted the rest of my day to pouring over all the websites and some of the info that the companies were able to send me that day. Tomorrow would be dedicated to getting an idea of the kind of ad campaigns these guys wanted to run.


	7. Chapter 7

Bitter Irony – I have written a Character with a broken nose and a couple days ago I bashed my own against a waterslide and it has swollen up and looks ridiculous.

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Danny and I had made up fajitas, which are one of my favourite foods and Bridget's too. Danny was far more helpful than I would have assumed. According to him, Gordon Ramsey taught him well. Lucky boy. I also whipped up a batch of chicken nuggets and fries for Chris because he still didn't like spicy food. I was hoping that would change soon because his mother and I love it so much.

Dougie, Tom, Gi, and Fletch would be joining us as well. Harry was busy, probably with the models from the other night. He was not growing on me as fast as the others, but I'm sure I'll get used to him eventually. Bells had called moments ago and was on her way over with Bridget and Chris and Danny said the others would be along at about the same time. We used the time we had alone to clean up his kitchen, where we had made a real mess. There were vegetables and stuff all over the place.

Just as we were getting everything put away, Danny's doorbell rang. He didn't bother to go open the door as it swung open of its own accord almost immediately after, Tom, Gi, and Dougie on the other side. Apparently all the guys have keys to the others houses, which kind of makes sense but you would think with the rep the guys have for being womanizers they wouldn't want their boys to be walking in when ever they wanted, but whatever. Bells, Bridget, and Chris were along quickly after. Fletch had called saying he would be late but to please save him a plate for when he arrived.

Chris ran right to me and gave me a huge hug.

"What's for dinner?" He asked in his little voice.

"Fajitas," I answered calmly.

"Oh," he said trying not to show his disappointment. He was so good at being polite I took pity on him.

"But," I started slowly. He perked up, hoping I would say what he wanted to hear. "I also made you chicken nuggets and fries, because you're special."

"Really?" he looked ecstatic. "You're the Best!!" He shouted and hugged me again.

"Anything for you, Buddy," I set him back down and he looked around, clearly hoping to find someone in particular. His eyes landed on Dougie and he took off in that direction.

Bridget said hi and thanked Danny for inviting them over. He of course said it was his pleasure. Everyone say down at Danny's extended table, Chris wedging his way in so he could sit by Dougie, who I'm pretty sure is his new hero. Dougie seemed pretty happy about this too. During dinner, the two of them kept a running conversation going about seemingly meaningless things, but Dougie seemed to be remarkably in tune to what was important to a four-year-old. The adults, if that's really what we were, discussed the charity match and the guys seemed genuinely interested in our endorsement deals. They hadn't ever done anything quite like them before but were familiar with the process.

Bridget seemed to enjoy just talking to everyone. I don't think she gets to just talk at home, like I've said I'm not a fan of her husband and I've got a lot of good reasons. The guys were really interested in her and all the things she's done. She is still a really high profile player and was huge eight years ago. Danny and I were about fourteen then and I idolized her. He got sucked into watching a lot of her games with me and had a healthy respect for her ability to play the game. Settling into a happy relaxed feeling I looked around the table at the people we were with. Tom and Gi were excellent and getting on quite well with Bells. In fact, I'm pretty sure Bells and Gi were in the process of planning a shopping trip. Danny was fascinated by Bridget and the stories she told about where she had played and all the players she knew and had played with in the past. Some of his favourites were on her list. She had been playing for many years and was on good terms with a great number of men's professional teams. Chris was seriously discussing his dislike for spicy food with Dougie who had an identical serious look on his own face. Doug mentioned something to Chris who seemed to consider the comment intently before nodding his head. The two switched one of Chris's chicken nuggets for some of the chicken and green peppers from Dougie's fajita. I watched, amazed, as Chris slowly took a bite and considered as he chewed.

"So," I heard Dougie ask him. "What do you think?"

"Not so bad after all," Chris's voice floated back to me. "But I think I still want my nuggets tonight. Maybe next time I'll have the same as you."

"Sounds like a fair decision, little dude," Dougie answered, clearly pleased with himself and with Chris.

I was in shock. Of all the members of McFly, I had not expected Dougie to get along the best with a kid. But I was so happy, Chris had tried some spicy food and didn't hate it, we were definitely making progress. Or should I say, Dougie was making progress. I had to remember to thank him later.

Dinner ended and Danny and Tom offered to clear the table while Bridget and I retrieved our endorsement research. Fletch walked in just as all the plates had been removed and our paperwork was being spread across the table. Danny and Dougie offered to take Chris outside and play some football and Tom and Gi had to go home. Danny got a plate ready for Fletch and set it in front of him on the table before taking the two boys outside, Bells followed them for lack of anything else to do.

Bridget and I set into our discussion about what we wanted and how to go about making the decisions. She had finally decided to do everything without her husband this time. Even though he was her agent, she was usually not happy with what chose for her, which were usually those with the highest dollar values behind them. Fletch was excellent at answering any questions we had, which was awesome and really convenient.

By the end of the evening, we had both narrowed down all our offers to the ones we wanted to do. Fletch and Dougie had gone home and Bells was curled in an armchair, probably sleeping. Danny was asleep on the couch, Chris stretched out and sleeping across his chest. His small head was nestled against Danny's heart and Danny's outside arm had wrapped protectively around him so he couldn't slip in his sleep. Bridget and I watched for a moment as Chris moved up and down with the heavy breathing of Danny's chest. It was one of those moments where I really wished I had a camera to catch the image. I rifled through Bells' purse knowing she wouldn't care and hoped she still had her camera in there from the party last Saturday. It had been tucked away in a pocket and I pulled it out and handed it to Bridget. I was horrible at taking pictures, but she always managed to get a perfect shot, particularly where Christopher was concerned. She snapped a picture, checked to make sure it would come out alright, and handed it back to me. I tucked it back into Bells' bag and slowly shook her awake. She looked confused for a couple seconds but realized where she was and how late it was. She rubbed her eyes and got up slowly, taking in the scene of Danny with Chris and giving us the "Aww…" face.

I gently tapped Danny's shoulder, hoping he wasn't still as deep a sleeper as he used to be. He was, so it took a minute to get him up, but he managed not to move too much and was therefore able to keep Chris sleeping. He sat up slowly and quietly, holding the little boy gently so he wouldn't wake and walked with us outside where a cab was waiting for us. He passed Chris to Bridget, thanked us for coming, kissed Bells on the cheek, and punched me on the shoulder before going back inside the house and we pulled away.

The night had been successful. Bridget and I had gotten our stuff done and Christopher had managed to procure two new playmates. Both of which I was sure would try to be good examples to him if they were around him at all in the future, which is still more than I can say for his father.

The cab stopped at our place first and I gave some cash to Bridget to cover the ride and she took the cab the rest of the way to her own house. I wrapped an arm around Bells' shoulder as we made our way up to our small flat. We both jumped into bed and she fell asleep instantly. I wasn't far behind, and fell asleep with an image of my favourite little boy curled up on the chest of my former best friend. It was like feeling like I had a big family for the first time in my life and I really enjoyed that sentiment, even though it seemed like it belonged in a Hallmark card.

******

On Friday I carried out the duty of calling all on the reps I had spoken to. I had tentatively decided on Gatorade and Nike, providing I agreed with the marketing plan they put together and I talked to Gatorade about putting something about recycling in the ads and Nike promised to run me through what they were doing to improve the conditions of their third world workers. I would not agree to that one until I was convinced they were actually trying to change.

As far as magazines were concerned, UK Cosmo sounded like fun so I was going to do that one and there was one other sports magazine I agreed to. That one would probably end up just like the Sports Illustrated article, which was fine by me. The weekend was fairly uneventful and it allowed me to get some time in at the gym. I took up boxing a couple years ago. One of my anger management therapists suggested taking it up as an anger outlet and I have to say it worked pretty well. I really enjoy it too, although I was known for getting a little out of control when I was furious, but I could usually take my anger out on the bag before I fought with anyone, so my damage was minimal. I hadn't really hurt anyone in a long time.

Monday was a whole different story.

Bells came back from class that afternoon and brought with her two tabloid magazines. The cover of the first sported a picture of Danny kissing Jayne, I'm not sure where they were. The bottom of the paper had pictures of Dougie dancing with Britt, Danny hugging me at the match, and Danny passing Chris to Bridget in front of the cab the night before. The headline read, "McFly are Cozying Up to the World Cup Team: Just How Many Players are They Going to Go Through?" I laughed out loud. I read the article to find out what they would have to say about each picture, most of it was inaccurate, but I had expected as much.

I was, however, frustrated by the picture of Bridget and Chris because I knew it would not go over well with her husband. He was going to be really, really mad. I'm betting he would rant about her being unfaithful, which would be ridiculous because I was in the cab. You can actually see Bells in the picture, but it's just the back of her head. I just hoped Bridget would be ok.

The second held separate pictures of Danny and myself. In my picture I was brushing hair away form my face and my scarred knuckles and broken nose were both circled. The title of this one read, "Toma's Always been a Fighter, But Was It Danny Jones Who First Broke Her Nose?"

I guess I should have seen this coming. My speech said I had broken it young and I had mentioned Danny's family on several occasions in recent interviews. At the party I said we had been friends several years ago and anyone with even a rudimentary sense of how to do research could figure out that Bells had lived with Mrs. Jones for two years. Not to mention, Bolton wasn't that big and people talk, particularly after they see something like the charity match and tabloids are looking for a story on Danny and I, people are usually more than happy to share one.

I didn't really care what the article said but I knew that breaking a football star's nose was probably not going to look so good for Danny. I wondered if he was back from Manchester yet and thought about calling him but realized that if he hadn't seen it, it wouldn't be a big deal.

RINGGGG.

Danny's name came up on my caller id. Uh oh.

"Hello?"

"Did you see it?" he didn't even bother to say hi.

"What exactly?" didn't want to make him upset if he didn't know yet, although it does seem like he did.

"That I broke your nose and I'm sleeping my way through your team," came his angry reply.

"Well…" I answered slowly. "Yes, I did. But you did break my nose and people already think you're sleeping your way around England, adding my team in there can't be so bad."

"Ok, that wasn't nice," but I could hear his anger dissipate just a bit. "And I can get over the sleeping around thing, because you're right, people already think that. The part that sucks is Bridget, will she be ok?"

"I hope so," I need check up on her today.

"Fletch is going to need to make a statement about your nose though."

"I figured. But I just don't understand why my nose is such a big deal. I mean, it's such a stupid thing for people to talk about."

"Well, a guy breaking a girl's nose is never good, so a famous guy breaking a famous girl's nose is even worse, because everyone knows about it."

"I guess, but I never really thought of myself as counting with that rule before."

"That doesn't mean that the general public agrees with you."

"Fair enough, but it's weird that the general public gives a shit."

"Right, but they do. So we need to do something about this."

"Do you have any interviews coming up?"

"Paul O'Grady on Thursday."

"So tell Fletch to let him know in the pre-interview that he is should ask about it and tell the whole story. No big deal."

"You don't mind?"

"Of course not."

"Do you want to come on the show too?"

"No," like I would want to be part of a McFly interview, "and you can't make decisions like that anyway."

"I could suggest to Fletch that he suggest to Paul to have you come on as a surprise guest. We could tell everyone about it together."

"Whatever Fletch thinks is best is fine by me," I said, hoping Fletch would agree with me. The guys could talk about it and Paul loved them so he would spin everything positively. Problem solved.

My phone was beeping at me. Call waiting and it was Bridget.

"Look Danny," I said quickly. "Bridget's on the other line. I've got to check to make sure she's ok. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Yeah, fine," he said, obviously frustrated I was brushing him off, but he'll get over it. "Let me know if there is anything I can do for her or Chris."

"Sure, bye"

"Bye."

I flipped lines quickly, hoping I wouldn't miss her.

"Hey Bridget," I said.

"Can you come get Christopher?" I'm getting no preambles from people today. I wondered what could be so wrong that she didn't want Chris in the house but didn't bother asking. Good friends know when to just agree.

"Sure I'll be there in ten minutes," I answered already pulling on my shoes to head downstairs and call a cab.

"Thanks," and she hung up. Now I was really worried. Her husband must have seen those pictures and read the article. He wouldn't let this go easily. Particularly before she signed the endorsement agreements he wanted her to sign, even though she had picked her own the other night.

I rang the cab company on my way down the stairs and waited outside for a couple minutes before it came up. I jumped in, gave Bridget's address, and anxiously wrung my hands as the cabbie drove the short distance to her house.

The house seemed quiet when we approached and I paid the cabbie. I was going to have him wait but my gut told me to send him and go inside for a while if Bridget would let me. I needed to know that she was safe before I took Chris with me. I put my ear to the door before I knocked, I know it's wrong but I was hoping to get an idea of what was going on inside before I went in. I couldn't hear anything, which I assumed was a good sign and knocked loudly. Bridget was at the door almost instantly, she had clearly been waiting for me to show.

"You ok?" I asked slowly, looking at her carefully. Not that I was worried about her husband hitting her or anything, she'd lay him out if he tried anything like that, but that didn't mean I didn't have reasons to be concerned. He would talk her into doing something terrible or make her cry, and I would hate either of those things. It's actually a really good thing he wasn't around or I probably would have punched him myself, which would stink because my track record has been so good lately.

"Yeah," and she looked like she meant it. "I was just wondering if you could take Chris while my husband and I have a little chat."

"Ok…" I knew I needed to choose my words carefully. She seemed truly frustrated with him, which was really rare and I didn't know where this was going. "Anything else I can do?"

"I might need a place to stay tonight," she said with confidence. "Unless I can talk him into being the one who leaves. He doesn't trust me, believes I'm an idiot, and just told me I shouldn't be trusted with my own son. Which tells me he shouldn't be trusted with our son because he's around less than I am. He doesn't know Chris at all and I'm not leaving him here. So I want you to take him now, before I talk to Aaron. Keep him safe and I'll talk to you later. It might be late." Aaron was her husband, just as a heads up. This was so unlike her, she normally stood up for all the rotten things he said and did and I wondered what sent her over the edge to finally realize how horrible he is, but I'm guessing it had something to do with Chris.

Chris had been sitting at the kitchen table finishing dinner but bounced down and toward me when he heard me talking to him mum.

"Hi Max," he said, a napkin still tucked under his chin. "Mummy says we get to have a sleepover tonight."

"That's right Buddy," I said, kneeling down so I was at his level. "Did you get your stuff all packed?"

"Yeah, it's in my room," and he ran off toward the back of the house.

"I don't care how late it is," I turned my attention back to Bridget. "Give me a call and come over."

"I will," she answered as Chris came running back into the room, a blue and red backpack slung over his shoulders. "Love you Chris." She held out her arms to him.

He hugged her tightly. "Love you too Mum. See you later Alligator."

"After a while Crocodile," she laughed as he grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door.

"Call me no matter what," I said as she stood in the door behind us. She nodded and closed it all the way.

Chris and I caught another cab back to my place. Just as we were climbing the stairs my phone rang again.

"It's Bells," she said when I answered. "I went back to the library because I'm not prepared for this test I have tomorrow. I'm going to stick it out here then stay at my friend's dorm on campus. Is that ok?"

"Bells, you're an adult, you don't have to ask for permission. Of course you can, study hard and rock that test tomorrow, alright?"

"Sure thing, have a good night."

"I'll try. Bye Sis."

"Bye."

I hung up as I opened the door and Chris bolted past me to jump on my couch, stripping off his backpack. Then he ran to our movie collection. Bells has copies of almost every Disney film that has ever been released on DVD and buys new ones as soon as they are available. Then my phone rang again. This was getting ridiculous.

"Hello?"

"You sound annoyed," came Danny's clear voice. "Should just come to expect this when you answer?"

"Sorry," I answered, feeling only slightly bad that I was always grumpy when he was on the phone. "Stressful evening."

"Who's on the phone?" Chris called from the movie shelves.

"Danny," I answered.

"Ooo, can I talk to him?" Chris was suddenly beside me. He moved pretty fast for a little guy.

"Is that Chris? Put him on," said the voice in my ear.

I passed the phone down and Chris held it to his ear with two tiny hands.

"Hi Danny," his excitement was clear.

"Yep, we're having a sleepover because Mummy and Dad needed to have a fight." My eyes got big at this one. "Sometimes, but Dad yelled a lot this morning." Oh my gosh, this wasn't good. Hearing only Chris's side of the conversation was tough.

"Yeah, that would be awesome. We're going to watch one of Bells' movies and Max always has popcorn and the best juice," a pause. "Cool," another pause. "Yep, here you go," and he passed the phone back up to me before walking back to the shelf.

"I'm coming over," Danny said, "it'll be fun." And he hung up the phone. What is going on right now? I'm lost. I'm actually lost.

"Hey Chris, what did you and Danny talk about?" I asked trying to work everything out in my head.

"Umm, the sleepover and the movie," he said still mulling over his movie selection. Which was funny to watch because I know he can't read so he would pull out each movie so he could look at the cover of each one. I wanted to pressure more information out of him but I knew I had to remember that he was only four and what he took from a conversation was different than what I wanted to hear.

I sat down and waited while he finally pulled out the one he wanted. "Robin Hood" was a good choice because the comedy was golden, even for an older audience. He had never seen it. That's the problem with the Disney Classics, not enough kids are exposed to them anymore, it's sad really. I went to put the movie in but Chris stopped me.

"No," he cried. "We have to wait for Danny."

"Ok, but what are we going to do until he gets here?"

"We still have to change into our pjs."

"Ok," I answered, still not sure how to take this. Danny had been back in my life for a grand total of a week and two days. Why was he suddenly so willing to drop everything to come over here? "Why don't you go change in my room?"

"Ok," he pulled his backpack from the sofa and ran into the back room to change. A couple minutes later when he came out, the buzzer rang from downstairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**So the beginning of this chapter is quite similar to the end of the last one but that is because you are now hearing it from another perspective. **

**In case you haven't figured it out yet; whenever the story is written in first person it is Max's POV and whenever it is in third person it is kind of Danny's POV.**

******

Danny had called Max to make sure Bridget was okay after that article. He kind of felt like it was partially his fault, not that he'd done anything wrong but the paparazzi was probably following him, not the girls. Plus it wouldn't have been a news worthy picture if he and Dougie hadn't been with Jayne and Britt at their party the day after the match.

When she answered the phone she sounded annoyed again. He was starting to think she just might not be a phone person. She said she'd had a stressful evening and since he knew she'd only been over to Bridget's he figured something must have happened. He heard a little voice call out to her. She answered and voice was more clear because Chris had obviously come closer to the phone.

"Ooo, can I talk to him?" he asked her.

After verifying that it was Chris Danny told Max to put him on, hoping Max would cave.

"Hi Danny," his excited voice came through the phone.

"Hey Chris. You hanging out with Max tonight?" it was a simple enough question.

"Yep, we're having a sleepover because Mummy and Dad needed to have a fight," Danny hadn't expected that answer from the little boy. He had assumed that was why Bridget had Max take him but was surprised Chris was so intuitive.

"Do they fight a lot?" He knew it wasn't his business but couldn't help but ask.

"Sometimes, but Dad yelled a lot this morning." This can't be good. Maybe he could go over and keep Max company while she watched him and waited to hear from Bridget. He knew her well enough that she would have demanded that her friend at least call her to let her know how everything was going.

"Maybe I could come over and party with you guys," he suggested to the little boy.

"Yeah, that would be awesome. We're going to watch one of Bells' movies and Max always has popcorn and the best juice," Danny laughed at this. Of course Max had juice in her house and no pop. She had always thought of carbonation as evil because of the negative affects it can have on athletes plus the amount of sugar. He'd put money on it being 100% juice too.

"I'll be over soon."

"Cool."

"Can I talk to Max again for a minute?"

"Yep, here you go," and Danny heard the phone be passed back.

"I'm coming over," Danny said before Max even had a chance to speak, "it'll be fun." And he hung up the phone. He hoped she wouldn't think he was being too pushy, but he almost felt as though no time had passed. This was how they did things. They never asked it was always just a given that the other would be welcome, although it was usually Max or Bells coming over to his place not the other way around. Their mum was rarely capable of handling extra people in the house. He used to only go over there late at night after their mom passed out. He'd have to sneak out sometimes it would be so late but Max would always let him in the front door because her mum would be out cold in her room.

He grabbed his wallet and keys and pulled trainers on his feet. He decided to drive to Max's even though it wasn't too far just in case Max wanted to pick up Bridget later tonight or Chris needed something. He buzzed into the building when he got there and parked.

He waited a moment before, "May I ask who's calling please?" Chris's voice came out staticy. That boy was almost painfully polite sometimes.

"It's Danny," he said into the speaker box. A cheer came from the other end and the door buzzed open to let him in. He walked up the few flights of stairs and knocked. He heard tiny feet running to the door. It pulled open and Chris stood to the side allowing Danny entrance. Max was standing by the sofa a dvd hanging from her hand and a questioning look on her face. He knew she was wondering why he had jumped in on their evening this way.

The little boy was bubbling over with excitement. He was actually bouncing up and down which caused Danny to bend over and pick him up. He was going on about the movie he had chosen and how they were going to make popcorn and, as much as he was listening, Danny was still keeping an eye on Max.

"Max, can we put in the popcorn?" Chris asked turning in Danny's arms.

"Sure Buddy," Max answered, Danny set him down and Chris went running toward the kitchen and started rifling through a lower cupboard.

"Got it," he yelled excitedly holding up the small package.

"Why don't you grab another one," Max added, her attention now focused on the task at hand. "And I'll put this one in the microwave."

As Chris found another bag and Max pulled out a huge bowl. Danny admired how patient Max was with Chris as she told him how to hit the microwave buttons to start the second batch and then helped him open the first bag without burning his fingers and poured it into the bowl. She let Chris carry the full bowl of popcorn to the sofa and held it for him as he jumped up. She popped the dvd into the player and settled on the couch next to Chris, who propped the large bowl in the center of his lap. Danny looked questionably at the two of them and Chris gazed up at him.

"Sit by me Danny," he chirped. Max smirked up at him, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

He slid onto the other side of the sofa and took a handful of popcorn as the movie started. He laughed with Chris at all the funny parts and glanced over at Max throughout. She clearly knew the movie like the back of her hand and was more interested in Chris. When the popcorn was gone he laid across her lap and was close to sleep when it ended. She lifted him effortlessly from the sofa and carried him into her room where she tucked him in and read him a quick story while Danny watched from the doorway.

"Night Max," he whispered. "I love you."

"I love you too Christopher," she answered, smiling down at him. "Good-night."

"Night Danny," Danny heard Chris call from the big bed.

He answered softly, "Night Buddy."

Back in the living room, Max cleaned up the popcorn bowl and some of their glasses before sitting down on the sofa, clearly exhausted.

"You should go to sleep," Danny offered, knowing she wouldn't listen.

"Not yet," came the tired reply, but she didn't offer any following explanation so he decided to fish a bit.

"You're going to wait for Bridget to call, aren't you?"

"Yep," she didn't seem surprised that he had been able to pick that out so quickly.

"Can I keep you company?" this was a shot in the dark too.

"Why?" she sounded confused.

"Because."

"That's not good enough," she was still demanding, that hadn't changed.

"You know why I love Robin Hood?" He hoped she still remembered what random tangents he could go off on and would follow along until he got to his point. She didn't answer so he continued. "Robin Hood and Maid Marian are separated for some undisclosed reason but they both continue to think about the other while they go on with their own lives. Then a competition comes about and Robin Hood signs up for it in hope to see his lady love once more, where she lets him know she still loves him. Then at the end, Robin Hood helps to get everyone out of some sticky situations and they all live happily ever after."

He looked down at her where she had sprawled across the couch, a smile lingered on her face. She had already figured it out but he continued on anyway, "It just kind of reminded me of us. Except that we're not sweethearts like they were. But we were important to each other and I found out about the match and it was right after I read the Sports Illustrated article and realized you were on the team and I just wanted to run into you again so badly so I got Fletch to get me on the roster. Then you gave that speech about my mum and you mentioned me and I couldn't help but think that you must have missed me a little bit too. So now we just have to get through the sticky situations before we all live happily ever after. Or at least was should all be happy."

Max laughed out loud, "Well, I don't know that 'Happily Ever After' is really on my to do list, but I do appreciate the help with the sticky situations. Christopher really adores you." She then sat up quickly. "You don't expect me to fall in love with you, right?"

"Not even a little bit," Danny answered easily. "Our Robin Hood story does deviate slightly from the original, I don't really see myself falling in love with you either. We were tight and told each other everything and I want for us to at least be in each other's lives again. Even though I can't imagine the rolls to be exactly the same. I really don't want you do beat me up anymore for example."

"That's fair, I guess," Max had relaxed again. "Although I've been really good about that lately. I haven't beat up anyone in a really long time. So are we really going to try and go back to telling each other everything?"

"Maybe not everything, but sure. Why? Do want to know something?"

She got a mean smirk on her face, "Did you have fun with Jayne?"

Danny was rarely embarrassed by his sexual encounters and this was no exception. "I did, as a matter of fact. She surprised me a bit, but in a good way. Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," she answered, still grinning. "I was actually more concerned about Dougie. Britt is one of those people who feels really entitled to whatever she wants. Strikers are generally very cocky. She's a good player, don't get me wrong, but a lot of her talent came from her daddy paying for the best coaches in the country. Thank goodness she's a natural or she would have had to try to buy her way onto the team and with the politics that have been going on lately, it probably would have worked. Plus, we have a better striker anyway, so I don't have to deal with her on the field very often."

"Wow, why don't you tell us how you really feel?" Sarcasm was dripping from Danny's voice.

"Whatever, we get along fine and I'm entitled to my opinion," she shrugged it off. "I tell it like it is, you know that better than anyone. I'd tell her that if she ever asked, it's not like I'm saying it all behind her back."

"I actually think Dougie had a good time, but I don't think he would ever go out of his way to call her or anything." He considered his next options. "Is Bridget ok?" Danny asked, hoping that because he had allowed Max a personal question, it meant he was allowed to ask one as well.

"I think so," was the simple answer. "I didn't really realize they fought that much until Chris told you that today. I know her husband's a jerk and I don't think she sticks up for herself enough but when I went by today she seemed pretty confident with a decision to leave, or at least ask him to leave. I know she'll do what's best. She's really level headed and I would never wish a divorce on anyone, but I've seen the damage a faulty relationship can have, particularly on women, so I can't disagree with her decision. I just worry about Chris. Aaron is still his dad and I'm hoping he doesn't forget that. I'm scared he'll be the dad that never comes around to see his son once he can settle out his wife's accounts and I don't want Chris to have to grow up that way, he's going to need a male role model, just like Bells and I needed a female one. The hope I have if Aaron turns out to be the jerk I think he is, Chris will find someone like Bells and I found your mum and Vicky to guide us."

"When is Bridget supposed to call?"

"When she knows if she's coming here to crash tonight or not," came an answer that sounded simple, but Danny knew was anything but.

This was serious and Danny was glad Bridget had found someone like Max to lean on because, even though she is really young, she had the strength to deal with heavy stuff like this, having been through some horrifying things herself. Max had the ability to hold people up even if they had been falling for a long time; Bells, Danny, and even Vicky were all examples of that. She was a rock, but he wondered if she had ever needed a rock of her own and if anyone had been there for her.

He looked over at her as she settled more comfortably into her sofa. She seemed so worried, so pained by the fact her friend might be hurting. He wasn't used to compassion like this from her and he found himself attracted to it. Not romantically of course, but liked being around her when he felt this type of caring coming from her. Her empathy ran deeper than he could ever understand.

"Is Bells coming home tonight?" He asked changing back to a safe subject.

"Nope," Max's eyes watching him carefully. She still didn't understand why he was here and wasn't embarrassed to make it known. "She staying with a friend on campus tonight, which works out well because it means there's an extra bed in case Bridget comes over." She paused for a moment, then asked, "Why are you here? Why did you drop everything to come over?"

He considered this question slowly, knowing his answer would dictate their relationship in the future. "It was a gut reaction, I guess. I can kind of remember my parents fighting when I was little and all I wanted afterwards was to have a normal night. But it was never normal, sometimes Vicky would sleep in my room or mum would come in to talk to me and tell me not to worry, but it was never normal. I just thought that Chris being suddenly sent to you would feel weird to him, and maybe it wouldn't, maybe you do this all the time. I don't know. But I just thought one extra person might help him keep his mind of things. It sounds stupid, I know."

"It doesn't sound stupid. I know how you feel," she said. "You're right, we do this all the time, but he did seem so much more excited when he found out you were coming. I think he's really enjoyed the past week with you and Dougie being around so much. Aaron is never home because he is busy "managing" his wife's career." She actually made air quotes at this. "He's more concerned with the money he's going to make than his son and I think Chris just wants some male attention, you know?"

"Yeah," Danny said thoughtfully, "I definitely understand that feeling. I've been there." Sometimes Max forgot that Danny had been raised without a parent too. Her own dad had been so awful she often felt as though he wasn't really missing out, but as she was a girl, she had wanted a mother figure. It made sense that, as a guy, he would want a father figure too. His mum had always been so great, she never felt like they were missing out at all.

"Our childhoods were weird, weren't they?" She suddenly asked, surprising him.

"Yeah, they really were."

"What would Bells and I have done without you? All of you," she wasn't being sentimental in her questioning. She was just honestly curious as to what he thought might have happened.

"You'd still be a footballer and Bells would probably still be going to University to be a doctor because she would have always bandaged you up as a kid," Danny turned to face her more fully. "But I wouldn't be where I am today because you were the one who pushed me into the audition in the first place. And Vicky wouldn't be going to be a teacher because she learned how much she loved teaching from Bells."

"Not all true," she said. "I would have been back in Bolton with my sister when my mother died, so I wouldn't be playing football. You were always the one who told me I could do it anyway. Plus I'd probably be in prison for assault, although it's kind of a miracle I'm not already I guess." He felt like there was a story there but decided he wouldn't ask. She would offer up the information later if she thought it was a good idea.

"Vicky gave Bells the idea of being a doctor and your mum helped so much. We wouldn't be anything without you guys." She was again saying it like a statement but he felt that she was trying to convey a sense of gratitude to him that he wasn't sure he deserved. It was becoming more clear to him how much they had actually done for each other. When they were kids, and even teens, supporting each other seemed so natural because they didn't have anyone else to do it. Looking back on it, it was obvious they wouldn't have become what either of them were without the other.

It was an intense thing to realize and he shared his revelation with her. She nodded slowly. "I suppose that's true," she replied. He wondered if they would ever be the way they were before. Or if he even wanted that again. Maybe being like brothers wasn't what either of them needed right now. He had the guys and she now had a group of women who were clearly acting like sisters. Maybe they would be different than before, but that doesn't mean they would have to be any less important. He didn't have a lot of friends who were girls because he either slept with them and he was afraid they would get clingy or they were girlfriends of his friends. Case in point, Giovanna was his friend, a very good one too. But her friendship was contingent on her relationship with Tom, although he couldn't imagine it ever ending. But maybe it was time he invest in a couple female friends who could be just his friends and he wouldn't have to worry about it ending based on something beyond his control. Bells and Max would fit they role beautifully if they wanted it. They already knew him and he could tell Bells was already excited to have him back in their lives. Max might be harder to convince, but he knew if he was there for her enough, acceptance would finally settle in. If he was around long enough, maybe he could even get to the trust point.

RINGGG.

Max grabbed her phone so fast Danny was sure she had sensed the call coming.

"Hello?" she said quickly, having failed to look at the screen before answering.

There was a long pause before she visibly relaxed and said, "Yeah, that's fine. I'll buzz you up when you get here." Another pause. "Sure, bye." And she hung up the phone.

"Everything ok?" Danny felt obligated to ask.

"Yeah," she got up, went to the kitchen, and began preparing tea. "He was really mad but I guess he's packing his stuff now and should be gone by tomorrow afternoon. She's still coming here for the night, just to be safe though."

"I'm glad," Danny answered, happy Max could now relax a bit more. "But that is my cue to leave. I'll let you ladies have the rest of the evening to yourselves. Let her know that she can call me to watch out for Chris if you are ever gone. As long as I'm in town, I'd be more than happy to do it."

"I'll do that," she answered with a smile and he went to put on his shoes and jacket.

"Great, I'll see you later. And I'll give you a call about the Paul O'Grady thing. I think Fletch is trying to get you in there," he saw Max roll her eyes but knew she would cave if it meant making things easier for him.

He was reaching for the door handle when she said his name. He turned to the kitchen and saw her looking directly at him with a look on her face that he couldn't quite read. "Thanks for coming tonight. Chris was really glad you were here and so was I. It made it a lot easier to be normal around him." This was new to him, she had never been big on gratitude when they were younger. She was grateful, she just never said it in so many words.

He felt himself crossing the room and before he had a chance to think about what he was doing, he wrapped her in a warm hug, which she gratefully returned. He was feeling a change in her. When they were little she had always acted like she didn't need anyone else, even Bells. She knew Bells needed her, but made it appear as though she could go on without anyone else. It was like she had realized somewhere along the way that she wanted others around and needed them sometimes too. She leaned into their hug a little more and he knew that was her was of showing she had needed another person tonight to help her handle what was happing to her friend. And he was glad he had been able to be that person.

He gave a final squeeze and walked back to the door, said his good bye, and left. Max would take care of Bridget that night and he knew they would be able to work out together what she should do the next day. She didn't need him anymore tonight.

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	9. Chapter 9

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a surprise guest today, Toma Maxwell," Paul O'Grady spoke to his audience and I walked out to tumultuous applause, which was encouraging because I knew the majority of the people out there were here for McFly and our fans are not typically the same. Fletch had done his thing and made it seem like it had been Paul's idea to call me up and invite me as a surprise guest. I guess he was looking forward to being the first to get the scoop on my nose and the other tabloid stuff. I wasn't exactly feeling self-conscious, but I felt a little weird because they had set the show stylist on me using the excuse that I would looked washed out in the lighting so they had to give me makeup. When they got me in the chair they had a go at my hair as well. There was thankfully nothing they were able to do about my outfit. I had a fully spiked mohican, which was weird because normally I only spike it in the middle and let the rest kind of flop around. I had my one plug earring in my left ear and a normal on in the other. I know they looked awkward but I liked them that way. Danny and I had both gotten our ears pierced together when we were sixteen. Danny had stretched his further, so he can fit larger plugs than I can, but they still looked remarkably similar. My makeup was at least subtle and I was dressed like I normally am; huge cargo pants and a black t-shirt stating "If at First You Don't Succeed: It's Because of Me" with a football next to the words.

Paul gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and invited me to sit down on the sofa. I did so and waved to the audience again as I turned to Paul.

"I'd like to start with getting the name issue out of the way," Paul said in his rolling voice. "No one calls you Toma, is that right?"

"Absolutely not," I said back, "I really hate it and as long as I can remember everyone has called me Max, which is of course just a shortened version of my last name."

"Excellent. Well Max, I'm hearing a bit of the north in your voice, is that right?" He asked, leaning forward to show he was interested.

"Yeah, I'm originally from Bolton." This got a huge cheer from the crowd. A normal guess would be because several of them were from Bolton, but on a day when McFly was backstage the reason is because Danny Jones shares the same hometown.

"People are talking about you a lot right now, aren't they?"

"Well, they're talking about the team," I was going to make sure my girls got their glory.

"Of course, what's it like having a gold metal from the World Cup?"

"Awesome," I told him. "It's great knowing that we worked so hard and did all those grueling hours of training and it really paid off in the end."

"You're the only person in history who has won the Golden Ball and the Best Young Player's Award. What is that like?"

"A tribute to the people who make me look good. My team holds as much of those awards as I do."

"You were young when you started playing at Oxford too, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I took my GCSE's a year early so I could leave if I got the scholarship I needed."

"And just because now is that time students will be getting those results back would you mind if I ask how you did?"

"Not at all," I hoped I wouldn't sound to confident after this. "I studied really hard because I really wanted out early if I could manage it so I pulled A's and two B."

"What were the B's in?"

"English, you'd think it be the easiest. But I find it really tough. And information technology. Basically, tech stuff and I just don't get along. I have to have friends set up my phone and everything, I even manage to screw up google."

"Does that mean you don't ever Google yourself?"

"Nope, I barely use a computer at all."

"So you're really quite smart with the exception of the computer thing."

"Well, I don't know about that. I just had a really good reason for wanting to do well which made it much easier to study."

"Can you tell me a bit about this attitude problem you used to have?"

"That's so sweet that you think it's gone now. It's not," this got some laughs from the audience. "I've been kicked out of more pubs for fighting than anyone else I know."

"Really?" Paul seemed totally entranced by this statement. "I've always wanted to be kicked out of someplace for fighting," he said as though he was telling a secret. "But I don't think anyone has ever found me to be enough of a threat to start anything." He was so funny. I could see why he is one of the most watched programs on TV. He made himself seem so relatable.

"Well, my coaches didn't exactly find it to be a good thing. I ended up taking up boxing to get my anger out. It was a suggestion of my anger management counselor," more laughs, including from Paul. "You think I'm joking, I'm not."

"So you really took up boxing?"

"Yeah, I did. I really love it actually," being honest with everyone couldn't hurt. "I love punching things and becoming even more efficient is really gratifying."

"I love boxing. I love going to matches and the adrenaline that I get pumping while watching it. It's great fun, isn't it?"

"It really is fun to watch. I have all my certifications but I've never competed myself because it can be a bit dangerous and I don't want to risk not being able to play football anymore. So watching it can be really tough for me because I want to jump into the ring so badly and have a go myself but I know I can't."

"Oh, that would be a scene wouldn't it?" Paul asked enthusiastically.

"It really would," I said with a smile. "Can you imagine the headlines that would accompany something like that? My goodness, it would be a night mare."

"Speaking of headlines," Paul surprised me by pulling up a copy of the UK Sports Illustrated I did right after the tournament. "I've had a look at this interview and of course the photos that go along with it. This picture here," he pointed to the one from all the papers, where I'm jumping and holding the flag, and it jumped onto the large screen behind him, "was in all the papers and most of England have seen it. Is that weird?"

"Not really, although I was a bit surprised myself when I saw the picture for the first time, I hadn't noticed a photographer at all. I look a bit wild but I think it conveys how excited we were all feeling at the end of that match."

"Now the picture on the cover," he flipped it closed again and the picture of my in football shorts and a black sports bra with a gold metal hanging around my neck came up on the big screen behind me. "Is this really what you look like, or did they air brush this?"

"What do you mean?" I wasn't sure what he was asking about.

"I don't know how to tell you this," he said in a falsely low voice, "but most women don't have six packs like that."

This got me laughing, "I know, but that is actually how I look when I'm in training. We are working out in some way or another for over six hours a day and eat compulsively healthy the rest of the time. When you have coaches working you as hard as we did, it isn't really that hard. I'm not quite up to standard right now, but I'm doing ok, I think."

We spoke a bit about the World Cup, the charity match, and the fact that I dress like a boy before Paul introduced McFly. The audience went absolutely wild as the boys came across the stage, each of them shaking hands with Paul and then turning to me. My comfort level with each of them was different and if the crowd was at all observant they would have noticed in the way each of them greeted me. Tom was first and gave me a light peck on the cheek, Harry shook my hand formally, Dougie hugged me, and Danny held out his fist and I, as always, hit my own against it. We took our seats again; me on the end of the sofa furthest from Paul, Danny next to me and Tom on his other side. Dougie and Harry were side by side on stools behind the sofa.

"I'm so excited to have you boys back," Paul was saying. He began asking questions about their upcoming album and stuff like that. He asked Danny about the charity match as well and asked the boys what they had thought while watching it. Paul interacted really well with them and I can only assume that was because they had been guests so many times. They discussed the upcoming tour a bit and which arenas they enjoyed. Paul even asked if they get bras and knickers thrown on stage, which made them all laugh as they explained Dougie hangs them on the mic stand. The conversation eventually returned to me, which meant questions about my nose couldn't be far off.

"You know, looking at the five of you sitting together, Max you really look as though you could be part of the band. What with the mad hair and the earring, I mean," Paul was saying, getting laughter from the guys and myself along with the audience.

"Oh no," I said casually, "they dress much nicer than I do."

"But it's true, isn't it?" he turned to the boys, seeing it hadn't upset me. "I think Harry had a haircut like that one at some point."

"I think I did," Harry replied and laughed.

"It's funny you mention the earring, actually," Danny began. "We actually got them together didn't we?" He turned to me. I had no idea he had planned on bringing this up, but agreed.

Paul looked shocked and so did the other guys, they probably hadn't been alerted to this tidbit of information.

"We got them done when we were about sixteen," he turned to me to make sure that was right, even though he knew it was.

"Yeah," I answered, playing off what he was giving me. "I asked the girl to just do my left like yours but she looked at me like I was nuts, so I let her do both."

Our history was slowly playing out and the audience was in shock. Paul had of course learned of some of it in the pre-interview but I think he was getting more than he had bargained for and he was loving it.

"So you have known each other for a long time then?" His eyes were sparkling waiting for the story.

"Yep," Danny answered. "We met when we were about eight and went to school together and stuff."

"So is there any truth to the rumors about you breaking her nose?" the question was directed at Danny but he turned to look at me before answering.

"Yeah," Danny at least had the decency to look sheepish.

I laughed and continued on, "I actually hit him first. Punched him right in the stomach the day I met him."

"Being your average boy of eight, I swung back and broke her nose. My mum took her to the hospital and we were friends ever since," Danny finished.

"And no one knew about this until now?" Paul was looking surprised, even though we knew he already knew about it.

Danny looked at me and shrugged, "some people knew I guess, we just never thought it was a big deal until people started talking about it in tabloids and stuff."

Paul asked a couple more simple questions about our upbringing but was kind enough to leave out my parents and their problems focusing instead on the relationship between the two of us. We both spoke, but I allowed Danny to answer most of the questions because it was the McFly portion of the interview. I even found myself feeling uncomfortable about the little amount of talking the other boys were doing. I didn't want this to end up being about Danny and me, it was supposed to be about them. I didn't even want to be here, but Fletch had convinced me it was a good idea. Paul wrapped up after congratulating the boys on starting their new album and wished them success on the launch of their album. We all spoke quietly together to give the credits time to roll then stood and moved from the stage when the producer announced the cameras were down.

"Sorry guys," I started before anyone else could say anything. "I know that was supposed to be your interview about your album. I didn't mean to get spotlighted like that."

"Your joking right?" Tom laughed. "We needed to get Danny off the hook for the nose breaking thing before any of our other promo started. You were perfect in that interview. You made it clear that you could be…" he stopped, choosing his words carefully, "aggressive when you were younger by talking about the pubs and boxing. So when you guys explained what happened people had no trouble believing that you had started it, even though you were kids and it hardly matters. Plus you guys did it in such a way that now it sounds like an endearing story, rather than Danny breaking England's golden girl's nose is a fit of rage or something. There is no way we could have spun it this way without you. We're probably more loved by the general public right now than when we came in."

"That makes no sense," I started, "and I'm not a golden girl."

"It does if you're in the public relations business," Fletch said coming up behind me. "And right now you are a golden girl whether you like it or not. The English public loves you for some unknown reason, and your past is probably part of it. You know, overcoming adversity and all that. And now, Danny is being seen as helping pull you from it based on the speech you gave at the charity match. You just turned him and his family into the most loved people in England for the next couple weeks, right before the release of the album. So don't worry about talking during the interview, it was perfect."

This still made no sense to me, but what do I know, I'm just a footballer with no PR background and not enough sense to get myself an agent. "Whatever," I decided. "As long as it worked out for you, I'm happy. Now I gotta go. I've got to talk to someone from Cosmo, which will definitely be interesting."

"Photo shoot today?" Dougie asked, grimacing a bit. My understanding was he hated the fact that he had to do them, so figured I would probably feel the same. He was right. I was not looking forward to that part. Particularly because I knew they would probably try to dress me up in something I would never wear. It wasn't like Sports Illustrated where I could just wear my football stuff.

"Nope," I answered, sharing a look with him. "Not until tomorrow."

"Dreading it?" Dougie asked, now looking sympathetic.

"More than you know," I answered grabbing my bag of gear, which I had brought hoping that after my interview I would be able to get some training in. The guys all said bye and I booked it out the door to grab a cab to the place where I was meeting the interviewer.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry I've been so bad about updating as regularly as usual, but I stumbled upon a small case of writer's block and became obsessed with the tv show Bones all in the same week. **

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After being so involved with each other right after the match, Danny felt it odd to suddenly have so much time without Max around. She had spent a lot of that week after the Paul O'Grady interview with Bridget and Chris and had also dedicated a bunch of time to working out the Cosmo article and photographs. The band had been busy with gigs and had a short stint in South America. When they got back she had just left on a tour of England for football promos and a series of classroom talks about Children in Need and familial violence and alcoholism. She and Bells had managed to come out to one of their shows, but they hadn't been able to spend anytime with them because they needed to get on to the next city right away.

The only time they had at the arena had been before the show had taken place and while the boys were under going physio for the muscle cramps they usually had from jumping around on stage. Danny had been hoping to get in some face time with Max while the others were with their physical therapist but that hadn't worked out quite the way he had planned.

Turned out Max had been a seriously important test subject for the kinesiology (study of human movement) department at Oxford and studies had been done on her body shape and her physical condition. Turns out it had started as a general athlete study but had become a more focused study on those 'perfect specimens' who where not only in great physical shape but also held few injuries. Danny had thought that with all the fights Max had been in she would have at least moderate permanent damage or scar tissue, but she had miraculously escaped it and became an ideal test subject. Normally this wouldn't have mattered to him, but their physio guy was familiar with the work and began asking her all sorts of questions about the study and about herself.

She was more than willing to answer and got into deep discussions with him about the human condition and all sorts of other complicated stuff he didn't understand. Bells had even jumped in on it, being a pre-med student herself. So that visit hadn't really gone as planned. Although, the physio guy had practically begged Max to let him study her and she had agreed, with conditions of course, and they had set up a time for later in October. All in all the time had gotten away from them and they had spent a very limited amount of time together.

By the end of September, Danny was actually missing her more than he suspected he would, so on the date of the release of the October issue of the UK edition of Cosmopolitan he found himself at Tom's house begging Giovanna to buy him a copy. As much as he wanted to read it, he could not bring himself to go out and buy it himself.

"Please Gi," even he knew he was sounding desperate but didn't bother to hide it knowing she would be more likely to agree if he sounded pathetic. "I would owe you one forever. I'm talking permanent indebtedness."

"If you want it so bad why don't you just go get a copy yourself?" She answered, a smug smile on her face told him she was enjoying his begging just a little too much. But he was desperate and willing to put up with it if it meant she would do him the favour in the end.

"Because I'm a guy and men are just not allowed to buy Cosmo. It's part of the bro code. We just don't do stuff like that because it's weird."

"He's right," Tom came to Danny's defense. "It would be wrong. No guy would ever be able to look at him with respect again." It was impressive how serious Tom could sound when he put his mind to it. Clearly he was making crap up but sounded like he was dishing out facts.

Danny pouted in what he thought must be a cute manner in hopes that Gi wouldn't be able to resist.

"Ugh," she finally made a disgusted noise. "Fine, but only if you promise never to look at me like that again. I know you think it's cute, but it isn't, it's creepy."

Danny immediately replaced the pout with a smile and promised while thanking her profusely while she got on her coat to run to the corner.

She was gone a total of ten minutes before returning and sitting down on the couch with the magazine she had grabbed for him and flipped it open.

Danny reached out a hand for it but Gi pulled it back.

"I went out to get it, only fair that I get to read it first," she had that same smug smile on her face. It wasn't a mean smile, she was only trying to teach him a lesson about using her to get what he wanted. He figured that was fair, sat back, and tried to be as patient as possible while Max's smile looked back at him from the cover.

He could at least study the picture on the cover while he waited. He was wondering what type of outfit they would put her in. Normally, the women gracing the cover of Cosmo wore shiny dresses and lots of jewelry and makeup. Max didn't even come close to following that description but she definitely looked different. Her hair had been styled so that it wasn't all standing up like it normally was. The choppy layers were obvious but instead of being straight up, it was straightened both forward and to the side so it flopped in front of her face and over one ear, kind of like Keira Knightly's looks from time-to-time, according to Gi. Her makeup was not all that subtle either. Her eyes had been darkly outlined and were heavy with mascara. The outcome was a bit terrifying because even with a smile, Max's hard gray eyes were more prominent with eye makeup like that. She was dressed in tight dark blue jeans and a soft looking, dark red shirt with sleeves short enough to still show off the insane muscle definition in her arms. They had even tilted her face so that the obvious crookedness of her nose wouldn't be as noticeable. Danny was sure Max hadn't been all that pleased with the outcome, but he thought she looked good, even if she didn't really look like herself.

The title accompanying her picture read "Toma Maxwell: Confidence Makes You Beautiful So Be Happy With Who You Are." That sounded like a quote from Max all right. Danny couldn't wait to get his hands on the article and was anxiously tapping his feet against the floor when Gi finally tossed him the magazine giving him an annoyed look, but one that told him she still loved him anyway. He gave her a huge 'Danny grin' before swiping up the magazine to take a look.

She began the interview with the general overview that all of them had. She talked about football, the World Cup, and her past. The remaining bit of the article discussed topics he had never breached with her, even when they were younger.

_Toma Maxwell has always taken a strong stance on women being happy with themselves and their bodies. You might think that because she is a toned woman without an ounce of fat on her, she doesn't have a right to judge others. She would agree with you but at the same time let us know about some of the insecurities she has dealt with and how she overcame them. "I was pudgy when I was a kid which sucked. Then when I grew out of it I was really tall and because of all my football I was solid muscle. I don't think I've ever been with a man who was more physically powerful than I am. It was always weird and uncomfortable. Plus I've never thought of myself as pretty, between my broken nose and overly dark eyes I know I come off a bit scary." She looked like giving this revelation was disturbing to her, as though thinking of herself that way was disappointing. "But I discovered something along my way. My power is the reason I was able to make this team and do something that most of the world will never be able to do. And my face may not be classically beautiful, but it is unique and I like having something that makes me distinctly different from others. There are so many attributes that individuals find negative when thinking about themselves, where others would love to have them. Think of a bigger woman who looks at a skinny girl and is jealous, but that same think girl is probably embarrassed by the fact that her bones stick out. It's a vicious cycle that tells women that no matter how they look it will never be good enough."_

_When we asked her what she felt makes a woman beautiful, as she has openly stated her hatred for conforming to societal standards, she gave us a common but underestimated answer. "Confidence makes a woman beautiful. Confidence makes people look and demands attention. Although, shy women can be confident too. If you know who you are and embrace it, others will be more likely to do the same. Women who try and hide their bodies instead of embracing their curves or other attributes attract more unwanted attention than those who openly show their comfort with their own bodies, regardless of shape or size."_

_Max told us that women, at least all the women she knows, are constantly concerned if the men in their lives find them attractive and we had to agree. She told us that her build was often a turn off to men she met, but there were always guys who didn't mind or actually found it attractive as well. "It's all about finding the right people," she told us. "I had to find people who were ok with the fact that I could beat them at most physical stuff." Max openly admits that she isn't seeing anyone right now, mainly because she cut off all relationships before training started to make it easier to focus and_ _gives the_ _women on her team who were in relationships, particularly those married and with kids, a great deal of credit for balancing so well. "Because I sure wouldn't have been able to achieve the same level of focus if I was worried about another person, but I guess I'm just selfish like that," she laughed as she explained about some of her friends who managed to be great parents all while partaking in physical training over six hours a day and mental training over three hours per day._

_We think it's important to mention that we think she is anything but selfish. She raves about her little sister, with whom she lives, and about her friends, particularly those on the team. We also know about all the charity work she works on and the tour of England she is currently working on with school age children and Children in Need._

"_I think people put too much stock in romantic relationships when they are young," she tells us toward the end of her interview. "Building solid friendships that will last through an entire lifetime is far more important than finding a man who will only be around for a couple months."_

Danny found the whole thing interesting and was glad it seemed to give him a 'Max fix' for the time being. He noticed Gi watching him from the kitchen and walked back there to hand the magazine back to her.

"Get your fix?" she asked in a teasing tone.

"Yes, I did, thank you very much," Danny responded with sarcasm.

Gi's face suddenly broke into a genuine smile. She placed her hand on his and asked delicately, "What if she ends up being 'the one?'"

She seemed so excited that this was even a remote possibility that Danny didn't want to dash her hopes but felt it was necessary to be honest. "People like you and Tom belong together, Gi. You guys are 'the one' for each other. But people like Max and me don't have a 'one.' We're too impossible for one person to be expected to deal with us for any extended period of time."

"Maybe that makes you perfect for each other," she suggested.

"Sorry," Danny replied, hoping she wouldn't take it hard. "Not gonna happen."

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	11. Chapter 11

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In October Max was off to the States to work the add campaigns for Gatorade and Nike, both of which had convinced her of what she was demanding and had come up with acceptable marketing plans. Even though her adds would be running in the UK and other parts of Europe but not the US or Canada, they still did filming there because that was where corporate headquarters was for both companies. When she came back two weeks later she was still required to do a great deal of promo, although most of it was in London, so she didn't need to go too far.

She had spent whatever time she was in London with Bells, Bridget, and Christopher, seeing Danny only occasionally and not seeing the other three at all. Danny and Vicky had both had dinner with Bells on separate occasions, which Danny had really enjoyed. He forgot how nice it had been to have someone like a younger sister. She looked up to him and one time even asked for a small amount of advice. He was more than happy to give it and hoped beyond hope that everything would work out for her. She had apparently met some guy at university and was trying to decide if he was really worth her time. She had been on dates with him but was very tentative about relationships. Danny thought this must be from one of two things. The first was obviously that she was subconsciously worried because of the bad example she had in her parents as a child. The second was that Max had her paranoid. He really hoped it was the first because it would be easier to remedy.

Danny had also been able to spend some time with Christopher while Bridget was gone. He knew it seemed weird, but the kid had just been thrust into a life where his dad was around a lot less and his favourite person, Max, was suddenly gone often. He and Dougie had taken Chris the day Bridget had done one of her magazine articles and on another occasion when she was filming an ad campaign. She had lucked out and her's were filming in London, not the States like Max's were.

*****

At the beginning of the third week of October when Max was back in the country and McFly had a three day break from their tour, Max and Danny finally managed to get together for a game of football with some of Danny's friends. Bridget joined them while Chris and Bells sat on the sidelines watching and cheering. Some of the guys had originally taken offense to women playing with them, but Max and Bridget executed a couple perfect plays, embarrassing the guys and making them realize it was important to take them seriously. They all ended up having fun and at the end of the game, Danny asked the girls over for a drink. Bridget had to take Chris home for bed and Bells had an early class the next day and also declined.

"I have to go the gym tomorrow morning," Max told Danny. "I haven't been in two weeks and it's killing me."

"Isn't it closer to my house anyway?" Danny asked.

"Well, yeah, but what does that matter?" She was confused by his question.

"Just crash at my place tonight after we have a drink," he said shrugging. "It wouldn't be a big deal."

"I don't have any of my gear," she obviously wasn't sure what to make of his invitation.

"Well, I'll take you and Bells home, you can grab your stuff and come over," he didn't want to have her make an uncomfortable decision, but at the same time, wanted her to know that they could be like they used to be, just lounging at the other's place and it not be a big deal or an attraction thing. It would just be two friends hanging out and not bothering to find a way home at night. He did it with the guys all the time and he sort of felt as though she wasn't any different.

"Sure, I guess," she seemed unable to come up with a good reason as to why it would be a bad idea.

"Great," Danny herded them toward his car, "come on."

He dropped them both off and waited downstairs. Max was back down in record time a duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She climbed back into his car, it still amazed him how effortless she made even movement seem.

"I feel like we're kids again," she was smiling at him when she said this and he noticed how her eyes seemed to change to a lighter shade of gray when her teeth were showing. It was odd, but it seemed to soften her features ever so slightly.

"I know," he replied smiling goofily back at her. "You used to crash at my place all the time when…" he trailed off not wanting to bring up negative stuff when they had been having so much fun.

"When your mum was afraid to send us home because she was worried about what would happen to us," she finished for him, her smile didn't falter. "It's not a bad memory Dan," she was now turned fully toward him to show she was fine. "It reminds me that even though my parents weren't able to take care of me, someone out there loved me enough to make sure I were safe. I felt more loved on nights like that than I ever have in my entire life, don't ever feel bad about bringing it up." She reached her hand over to where his rested on the gear shifter and squeezed his fingers gently before letting go.

He felt his smile widen. When he was younger he had trouble understanding why Max seemed to be ok with the fact that her parents didn't seem to care about her or Bells at all. When they grew up, and after her dad was gone, she was more open about it and he began to get it a bit more. He was now realizing that he had underestimated her strength and ability to cope even then. And he had underestimated the importance his mum had on her. In Max's mind Mrs. Jones was the closest thing she had ever had to a mother, even though she technically did have her own mum.

What he was now putting together from that simple statement was that Max had never really felt loved when she was young, with the obvious exception of Isabella. It was true that her parents hadn't really loved her, but it still really sucked to think about. Max still held her father accountable for the bad things that had happened when they were younger, he had been violent and abusive and she had to bear the brunt of it, so he kind of felt that she was justified. On the other hand, she had never been able to blame her mother for the way she ignored them as children. Max firmly believed that she had turned out the way she had as a product of someone along the way letting her believe she wasn't good enough, which pushed her into a marriage where her husband didn't respect her and treated her terribly, which led her to drinking. He was quite certain this was part of the reason she constantly encouraged women's independence and acceptance of themselves before they got themselves into relationships where both of those things would be pushed down. The Cosmo article was perfect evidence of that.

The remainder of the short drive was completed in comfortable silence.

"Do you want me to take that?" Danny indicated Max's duffle. They had parked and were walking toward his flat.

Max raised an eyebrow to look at him in disbelief. "Thanks, I can handle it."

"Sorry," he laughed, realizing who he was talking to. "It's just common gentlemanly courtesy isn't it?"

"I suppose," Max was shaking her head. "But as I am just as strong, if not more so, than you are, I really don't mind carrying my own stuff. But I do appreciate the offer."

"You know," he grinned at her as he unlocked the door, "you could just allow guys to do nice stuff for you and they probably wouldn't find you to be so intimidating."

"I realize that," she nodded her appreciation of his view, "but why allow them to think I'm someone I'm not, only to have them find out later and be disappointed. I'm a person who likes to carry their own stuff, if I relinquish that early on I'll be expected to do it all the time, which would involve being untrue to myself."

"You've really given this a lot of thought, haven't you?" he was not surprised even though his question indicated as such.

"I think about stuff like this when I'm running every morning," she admitted, not looking at all ashamed at being so straightforward. "It's just the way my mind processes I guess."

"Do you want anything to drink?" They had both stripped off their shoes and she had dropped her bag by the floor.

"A large glass of ice water would be awesome," and she crashed onto the sofa.

"Wow," Danny laughed, sarcasm seeping into his voice "don't get to wild on me."

"Sorry, I'm not a lot of fun. It's been bred into me because of football."

"Not a problem," he entered the living room carrying two large glasses of ice water and settled into a chair nearby. "Sometimes 'boring' is a welcome relief."

"Really, I would have thought you loved the drinking scene and partying with loads of beautiful women."

"Oh, I do," he would always be honest about that, why hide it? "But sometimes it gets old. When I get sick of it I usually hang out with Tom and Gi for the night, although I think I annoy them because their idea of quiet, down time is different than mine."

They spoke into the evening. Casual conversation still came easy to both of them because their immediate closeness right after that charity match plus the large amount of time they had spent apart recently. Running out of topics seemed impossible, which was a welcome change to both of them. The girls Danny often brought back were either too nervous around him to say anything or too thick to carry an interesting conversation and Max was used to people being intimidated by her and therefore keeping quiet out of nerves. Football was a particularly steady topic, but they didn't focus on Max's team or success. They spoke about it like they had when they were young; what players were their favourites, which teams they expected to succeed, and what games they would kill to go to. The irony that they were both finding was that they were both now able to afford going to as many games as they wanted, a major problem when they were young, but now had limited time to do so.

******

I crashed on Danny's sofa last night and woke early when my watch went off so I could get to the gym to meet with my trainer. I pulled a breakfast style energy bar from my bag and filled my water bottle. I changed in the open knowing there was no way Danny would be up anytime soon. I whipped out the door, made sure it was locked, threw my bag over my shoulder, and ran the fairly short distance to the gym at a brisk pace. It was my warm up so I didn't go too fast but it was pretty clear to me that I wasn't really up to par right now. I had a lot of work to do to get my body back up where it needed to be for any kind of competition.

Usually when I get to the gym I take out any frustration on a bag before I talk to anyone so that I don't do anything stupid, and I did that today, but didn't really feel any anger in it, which is not necessarily a good or bad thing. My trainer, Paul, caught up to me after about thirty minutes into my exercises. We worked through my punches with my left arm, because it is still a bit weaker than my right, and concentrated heavily on footwork. I'm quick and already move well but it's my favourite thing to focus on because it comes in really handy on the pitch.

Because I had been gone for over two weeks, Paul wouldn't let me in the ring with anyone else because being out of practice can cause accidents and when it is of the greatest importance that I never get hurt beyond bruising, he's not going to risk it. I was a bit bummed but totally understood where he was coming from. After a couple of rounds with the speed bag to rebuild some shoulder muscle, I stretched and did a slow run back to my flat. I took a long shower and relaxed. I hadn't had time off in a while and I didn't really know what to do with myself, but was enjoying it all the same. I called Bridget later on and she, Chris, and I went to the park, even though it was starting to get cold.

I slept early that night again because McFly had a gig just outside London and tomorrow was the day I had arranged to meet their physio guy. Danny was going to pick me up and while the guys did their sound checks and whatnot I was going to be studied by this guy, Austin I think his name was, before he began working on them for the day.

*****

Danny swung his car around in front of my flat and, ducking under his coat to attempt to avoid the rain, ran up to my door and rang through the speaker. I answered, letting him know I was on my way down and moments later was bolting out the door to his car so I wouldn't be soaked right away. The ride there was very much like the night before, easy conversation and little silence.

"So what is Austin going to do to you?" Danny asked with curiosity.

"He's not going to do anything to me," I answered resting my head against the back of the seat. "He's basically going to do a physical inventory of my body. I know it sounds weird but it's really not as long as the guy knows what he's doing. Which I'm guessing he does if you lot have let him poke at you for the past several years."

"I guess," Danny was still a bit confused. "But isn't it weird having a stranger study you that way."

"I used to think so," I told him honestly, "but I got used to it with all the professors at the university."

He still seemed like he would be uncomfortable with the whole process. In fact, if he hadn't known the guy for a long time, he would probably be even more uneasy about it. I couldn't figure out what was bothering him so much, he didn't have to do anything, I did.

We arrived at the theatre a bit early and Danny showed me around to the backstage areas where the guys would be before the show. I never realized that they practically hang out all day at a place where they're performing because they have to sound check, eat, and get rubbed down by Austin before hand. Their lounge had been set up right next to the physio room so we chilled there until the other guys showed up, Austin not far behind them. Normally, he doesn't come until a bit later because he wont see the guys until after they've done their sound check, but like I said, we made an appointment for this a long time ago and by the look on his face he's pretty excited about it. I put him at ease by telling he could start the pre-review right away. Basically, he gets to ask a bunch of questions before doing the body study so he knows where anomalies can take place and stuff like that. The guys were still in the room, which is not usually the way interviews take place, but I really didn't care.

"What types of physical activity do you engage in?" He asked. I was immediately happy with my decision to do this because I could tell he was really prepared and going to be professional about the whole thing. Plus, I haven't been studied since the tournament and it's always a good idea for someone like me because they can sometimes discover stuff about potential injuries that I never could.

"That's a stupid question Austin," Harry looked at him incredulous. "You already know what she does."

Austin looked at me and I smiled and nodded to him to let him know he was doing fine. He was comfortable around the guys so didn't mind making Harry feel slightly embarrassed by explaining, "It's important to conduct studies like this as though I have no idea who the subject is, particularly if it's the first medical encounter. If I'd questioned her before this wouldn't be necessary."

All the guys looked at him like they had no idea what he just said.

"Basically," I stepped in, "he's being really professional. Which is excellent because it makes me more comfortable too." I directed this toward Austin, "So please continue."

We went through a list of running, boxing, football, and other types of training I have taken part in. He asked about the number of hours I spend doing each activity per day, previous injuries, when my last exam like this was done, and other stuff like that. The guys left towards the beginning of the interview to get on stage to sound check. Questions started getting more personal after that, but I've done this before and I really didn't mind, it's just part of the process.

"What types of medications have you taken and have you ever used any illegal or performance enhancing drugs?" Austin looked uncomfortable at the line of questions. As though he were afraid that I would think he was suggesting I would do something like this.

"I avoid meds at all costs, if I have a really bad headache or something I'll take a painkiller, but I haven't done that since before the tournament and I have never taken anything else, illegal or otherwise."

"Have you…ummm…" Austin looked down at his list of questions and stopped speaking. Predicting what the next question would concern, I leaned forward to take his clipboard from his lap. I was right, it was a question concerning sexual activity. I smiled and he blushed, although I'm betting he was more embarrassed by the fact he couldn't ask the question than the question itself. As someone loosely based in the medical field he should be comfortable with stuff like that but clearly he isn't.

I passed his clipboard back. "Let's just say it's been a while. But I'm not letting you do an internal exam anyway, so it doesn't matter." He looked incredibly relieved by this. It's important to realize that as a national athlete I've been through every type of testing imaginable, so I was used to questions and examinations relating to this particular subject, but there was no way I was letting this guy in on that type of exam. I'm comfortable with people using me as an external subject, but that's it.

"All right, that takes care of all my questions," Austin regained his confidence and began showing his excitement. It may seem dorky for a guy to interested in studying a female subject like myself and maybe even a bit perverted, but I swear it's not like that. This is going to sound overly confident, but it is not often that a guy who does physio for a pop/rock band of young guys gets to study the same test subjects, in this case me, that are used at prestigious universities like Oxford. So it's not weird.

"Cool," I said, standing up. "Are we using your little massage room next door?"

"It's not a massage room," Austin was immediately offended, but seeing my grin he settled down realizing I was kidding. "Yeah, we'll use the physio room. The guys will be at least an hour on the stage working out all the kinks in the equipment."

"Great, lead the way." I was wearing baggy jeans and a hoodie but when we entered the room I offered to strip down to the black spandex and sports bra I was wearing underneath in anticipation of this. He agreed with a very professional manner and turned to give me privacy, which is really pointless because he was going to be poking at me while in the scant outfit anyway, but at least he was being polite.

After checking to ensure I was ready, Austin began his examination. It's actually kind of fun to go through one of these because you get to run through a series of motions with each joint and you get massaged, in a matter of speaking, throughout the entirety of the exam. Austin made extensive notes through out the entire process, which made me happy because I wanted a copy for my records. He also seemed to be really enjoying himself, which made me wonder if he really was in the right profession, dealing with the boys. I think he would be really happy working in a lab.

Austin was checking my abdomen when the guys came in. They all froze in the doorway when the saw the image before them. I guess seeing their trainer with his arms around my bare waist with his fingers outlining the grooves of my abs would be a slightly uncomfortable sight for them.

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**Hollis2020** – Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! My guy friends do that with Cosmo too. I've always found it so funny. I think they enjoy reading it more than I do sometimes.


	12. Chapter 12

When Tom swung Austin's door open and the group trudged into his room to have their muscles worked on before the show, they came upon what would normally be a really weird sight. Danny froze when he saw his trainer's hands gliding along Max's perfectly toned stomach. He got a weird feeling for a moment, not quite jealously, but he definitely didn't like Max being touched that way, maybe it was just brotherly protectiveness. That made more sense. He shook himself out of it and noticed the others had all stopped moving too. When he took in the whole picture it didn't seem so awkward. Max's arms were raised out to either side and Austin was applying pressure up and down her sides. Danny didn't know what he was feeling for exactly but he knew he wanted him to stop. It just looked too intimate.

"Hey guys," she smiled at them and lowered her arms as Austin stepped backward and began writing on the clipboard.

"Hey," came the group response as they all un-froze and continued into the room.

"Max, is it ok if we finish after I'm done with the guys? I only have your arms left anyway and they actually have a schedule," Austin looked expectantly toward her.

"No problem," she answered. Danny noticed that Harry and Dougie kept glancing in her direction. She bent over to pick her sweatshirt up off the floor and Dougie so clearly checked out her ass Danny hit him over the head. Luckily she didn't notice but Danny saw Harry taking in Max's abs as she pulled her sweatshirt back over her head, so he hit him too. However, Harry didn't take being hit as well as Dougie always does and swung back. Before anyone even realized what was going on they were down on the floor scuffling about like children. Danny heard a heavy sigh and felt arms trying to pull them away from each other.

"Guys, we have to go on in a bit," Tom called to them both. "We cant have you sporting black eyes when we go on and your hands need to be in good working order."

That made sense so Danny paused, but Harry, being the competitive person that he was, took advantage of this got him in the stomach. Feeling that was an underhanded move Danny once again swung back, pulling them both back into the fight. He heard the others talking around them but didn't bother to listen to what was being said. Suddenly Harry was pulled away from him and an arm wrapped around him to keep him from following. He calmed down quickly and stood to see a shocking image in front of him. Max had Harry locked in her grasp. Her arms were under his armpits and her elbows bent so that both of palms rested against the back of his neck pushing his head forward in a subservient pose. Harry looked livid but had stopped moving.

Austin had been the one who pulled him back, but Max had clearly been the one in charge of the situation. Max released Harry but spit out at both of them to stop acting like children. She sounded mad but Danny knew better. She would probably be amused by the whole thing and had likely been more than happy to be the one to break it up.

As always it was really as though nothing had happened. They moved on through their routine easily, neither Danny nor Harry upset with the other, although Danny was sure Harry's pride was wounded at the thought of being pinned as he was by a girl. Austin worked on all of them, focusing on each of their specific problem areas. Danny and Dougie always got shin splints from jumping up and down, Tom's rocker neck meant he needed extra attention along his entire spinal column, and Harry's forearms were constantly sore from drumming. Danny often thought Austin knew each of their bodies better than they did. During their rubdowns he and Max kept up a running conversation about her body when Danny found strange and uncomfortable because all he could think about was Austin touching Max.

During a particularly descriptive discussion about the muscles in her thighs Danny actually interrupted so he wouldn't have to hear them talking about it anymore. When they were done they all went to eat at catering together and Max started asking Austin to check specifics in her arms. It was then that Danny realized she wasn't doing this solely for Austin's benefit, she was having herself checked out too. Somehow that made it a lot easier to deal with.

"Could you double check my fingers, wrists, and rotator cuffs?" Max was asking between shoveling food in her mouth. Danny forgot how much she could eat. Usually she packed away more than he did. She always claimed it was because she used up so much energy in a day that she required more fuel.

"Sure," Austin readily agreed. "Why?"

"Boxing," was her simple answer. "I want to make sure I'm not stressing any of my joints more than necessary. I can't deal with any injuries."

"I don't think anyone who has ever studied you wants you to ever have injuries either," Austin was looking at her in complete admiration. "You're perfect." Danny felt his stomach clench up again. Why did people not realize they shouldn't talk about her like this? They should know better. He noticed Tom looking at him funny and forced himself to relax.

"The kinesiology department actually asked me to stop competing so they wouldn't have to worry about 'loosing' me as a study subject," Max revealed, using finger quotes once again.

Danny almost choked on his food. "What did you say to that?" Max would never give up something she loved that much.

"That I would never give up something I loved that much," Danny smiled at his accurate reading. "I figure the only reason I am 'ideal' is because I train so much and I've never gotten hurt. If they wanted me to quit I would loose everything that made me attractive to them in the first place." Danny loved how often she used finger quotes.

They got ready to go on stage after that and Austin and Max retreated to his room to complete his examination.

After their performance that night Max was joking with Dougie, so Danny stopped Austin to have a little chat.

"What did you learn about her?" Danny asked blatantly.

"That she's a practically perfect specimen and I don't blame her department for trying to keep her that way."

"Don't call her a 'specimen' and what do you mean?"

"The best way to describe it is to say she has developed muscle mass in such a way that the closest thing I've ever seen to her build is a renaissance statue. Her body is anatomically perfect in almost every way. It's actually impossible for most people to develop that way because of their bone structure and injuries that cause scar tissue inside the muscles, causing different growth patterns. In order for that to even happen they would have to be one of the luckiest people ever. Almost everyone has had a sprain or twist that is bad enough to change the muscle growth pattern. I only noticed four anomalies from a perfect body and three were really minor."

"And what are they?" Danny asked even though he was pretty sure he could guess.

"I don't know if I should talk about it…" Austin faded away.

"There are public essays published about her aren't there?" Danny asked. "So why would it matter?"

"I guess," Austin seemed to think this was good enough, plus he clearly wanted to discuss his research with someone. "The obvious are the broken nose, the problems with her knuckles, probably because of fighting, and she's broken some of her toes. The one that is more serious, but also much harder to find is the previous dislocation of her shoulder. It's really hard to find because it must have happened when she was really young, so the healing process was fast and almost perfectly complete. If she hadn't told me to double check I probably wouldn't have even noticed it in the first place. But like I said, she must have been really young."

"Younger than seven probably?" Danny could feel his vision clouding over.

"Definitely," Austin looked confused. "How did you know that?"

Danny didn't answer but looked up at him with a grim look on his face. Dawning appeared on Austin's face, but he didn't say anything. He chose instead to excuse himself and walk away, probably heading home for the night.

He called to Max who said bye to the other three boys. Dougie and Tom both answered cheerfully. Harry was still sulking a bit from earlier but still managed a falsely pleasant good-bye.

The beginning of their drive took place in comfortable silence. Danny was still thinking about what Austin had said about Max being one of the luckiest people ever. That didn't make sense to him. Max was anything but lucky if her childhood was any indication, but the reason she worked and trained so hard initially was to get away. Did that mean that she was able to be this perfect anatomy stature because her dad had been an ass? He hardly felt it was worth it.

"How can you preach to women about accepting their bodies when you have experts saying you have one of the most perfect bodies they've ever seen?" Danny asked once they had been driving a while. He didn't want to make her angry but figured starting with this question was easier than asking her if her dad had actually wrenched her arm out of its socket, which Danny was pretty sure he had.

Max looked down at her hands at this question, showing sudden vulnerability that he wasn't at all used to. "Those experts that talk about me that way also don't seem to think of me as someone with feelings or anything. They always talk about my 'anatomical perfection' and stuff like that but none of them would ever want to look like me. I once over heard the head of the department tell one of his underlings that I was like a perfect meshing of the male and female bodies. He said that the myths of Amazons from Greek literature must come from people like me. What woman would ever want to be described in such a way?" She paused, she seemed to be collecting herself. Being referred to in those terms was clearly something she found de-humanizing.

Danny was shocked, but instead of interrupting with anger comments directed at whoever this guy was, he waited for her to continue.

"I understand their desire to study me because of what they can learn, anatomically speaking. But what others don't always realize is that because I'm built this way I'm actually weird. I'm anything but normal. Plus, even though I'm supposed to be 'perfect', no one would ever actually wish to be built like me. I can see it in people's faces when they meet me. I intimidate people simply by way of being born with tall stature and easily built muscle mass. People automatically judge me the instant they meet me based on my appearance. I have to overcome judgments people make about me just like people, women in particular, who may be overweight or are too skinny have to. It's crap because those are societies ideals. As long as they are healthy it shouldn't matter, but for some reason it does. Society assumes bigger people have no self control, that skinny people are all anorexic, and those women who have a great deal of muscle mass are too masculine. None of these assumptions are necessarily true. Everyone has something to overcome when it comes to the judgments of the public. Some are just harder to see than others."

Her voice never rose, but it was clear she was upset and not just for herself. She was upset for everyone who had ever had to endure being looked at as though they were different or judged based on appearance.

"Come off you soap box for just a second, ok?" he said slowly, hoping he wouldn't offend her. "I agree with everything you just said and will even admit to having done some of those things myself. But I want you to know that I think you're perfect the way you are and not in the way Austin and the other squints1 talk about you." He took his hand from the shifter for a moment and lifted it up to her shoulder to squeeze it slightly.

"Thanks." She tilted her head to the right and rested her cheek on his hand for a second before lifting it again so he could place his hand back where it needed to be. She seemed to daze off a little after that, staring out the window.

"What happened to your shoulder?" He asked quietly after some time.

"What?" she pulled herself from the trance she was in and seemed legitimately confused. "Nothing's wrong with my shoulder."

"Not anymore," Danny tried to explain himself but was afraid she might not like that Austin gave away her injuries.

"Oh," it seemed to have dawned on her and she smiled at him. "You spoke to Austin."

"Yeah," he couldn't tell if it would be proper for him to feel ashamed by this or not.

"Don't worry," she read his feelings perfectly. "My dad yanked too hard one too many times I guess. Luckily it was before my mom got really bad so she was able to take me to the hospital and have it set properly. Dislocation isn't really that big a deal."

"How old were you?" This is what had really bothered Danny. He knew it was before they had met but wanted to know how young she had been.

"Six or seven I think," the air of casualness with which she spoke would have astonished anyone else, but Danny was used to it. She moved passed some of her issues when they were younger and clearly was even more comfortable with the subject now, suggesting she had come to terms with everything that happened. "He broke my wrist the year before and I think the two incidents combined at least caused him to be more careful. He was more into bruising than breaking which ended up being quite a good thing. Plus I learned how to move with him so I wouldn't hurt myself further."

"How did Austin not notice your wrist had been broken?" He felt hot anger boiling over.

"It was a well set minor break when I was five. Little kids heal easier because they're still developing."

He had always known her dad was a bad guy but hadn't ever been told the extent of it. He looked over at her and found her looking back at him calmly.

"Don't look at me like that," she demanded in a soft tone. "I don't want you feeling sorry for me. It was a long time ago and it made me a stronger person, not that that makes it okay, but I've accepted it."

"But I…" he began but she quickly cut him off.

"He's gone, I'm fine, and Bells is fine. It's something from the past that needs to stay there, okay?" She asked in a severe tone. He nodded his agreement and allowed his features to soften. She was right, nothing he could do about it now, and if she was really alright he had no reason to be upset.

They pulled up in front of her house quite late. She popped open the door and he remembered to ensure she was coming to the Halloween party Tom and Gi were throwing later that week. He had invited her and Bells a couple days ago, telling them they would also bring along other friends if they wanted. He was sure Bells was bring a couple friends but wasn't sure about Max. She assured him she would be there and shut his door and ran through the continuing rain to her door. When she was safely inside Danny slowly pulled away from the curb.

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**1****Squints are people who work in a lab. It is one of my favourite terms from Bones.**

**Please review if you get time, I'd love to hear what everyone is thinking.**


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry it took me so long to update for some reason the website wouldn't accept my document. But I think it's fixed now.

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They had dressed up as KISS. Danny was pretty sure it had been Dougie's idea originally but Tom had really gotten into it and their costumes were insane. If he didn't know any better, he would actually think they were KISS, right down to the platform boots. Danny had a newfound respect for women who wore heels, they were so uncomfortable and hard to walk in. Plus the face paint was ridiculous, but he had to admit they look pretty good.

Danny was pretty sure Tom got so into it because he was so excited about the fact he got to be Starchild. Danny thought it suited him perfectly as Stanley Eisen was a guitarist and vocalist. Not to mention, he wrote or co-write the band's highest-charting hits, just as Tom had done for McFly. Plus the star tattoo on his chest fit right in.

Tom's house had been completely altered. He and Giovanna really got into holidays and they really outdid themselves for this Halloween party. The decorations were really impressive and so was the guest list. Danny wasn't even sure there was enough room in the house for the number of people that were invited.

People had already begun filing in and Tom had required all four of them to be there early so they didn't look stupid. He felt the image didn't come across as good without all four of them there. Max was coming later with Bells. Danny had no idea what either of them were coming as, but, knowing Max, she would probably come as a football player so she wouldn't have to worry about a costume, she could just wear her regular clothes.

He was told by Tom to be the greeting committee for a while and was stationed in front of the door for the beginning of the party to welcome people in. Neither Max nor Bells had shown by the time Dougie took over for him 30 minutes later, although some really slutty nurses had walked by earlier and he had plans to find them later on. Danny mingled for a bit because he knew it would make Tom happy when he noticed an immensely tall woman dressed as a goth or something lean in to punch Dougie in the shoulder.

_Wait, no woman ever passed up a chance to kiss Dougie on the cheek, even if he was dressed like the Demon_ (Simmons, Bass player of KISS). _Weird_.

Suddenly, a beautiful blond girl pranced up to him, white wings and gown practically glowing around her thin frame. Bells had minimal makeup on and looked radiant. She had a thin gold wire around her head acting as her halo. Her kissed her lightly glittered cheek and hugged her while trying not to crush her delicate wings.

"Where's Max?" He asked as she pulled back.

"She walked in just in front of me," she answered. "I'm actually kind of surprised you missed her. She kind of scared me a bit. For someone who never where's makeup we really went all out. Tom said I could bring some friends from class so two of them are here and we all helped Max get ready. She really had no say, I'm just happy she didn't kill any of us."

"Ok," Danny said trying to process all that information at once while trying to figure out what Max could possibly have dressed as. "Where is she?"

Isabella turned in a slow circle taking in everyone around her looking for her sister. A smile settled on her face and Danny assumed that meant she had found her. "Right there," she pointed toward the tall woman he had seen earlier. Her swirling black and red face paint danced in frightening patterns around her left eye and covered a third of her face, making her much harder to recognize. Her hair seemed darker, almost black and carefully styled in spikes. Walking toward her he began to take in her outfit as well, making it more clear what she was actually dressed as, a vampire. The high-heeled black boots added at least three inches to her already sizable frame. Her top had a high collar at the back, making her neck look longer and strangely appealing. A black corset emphasized her curves and the pale skin around her neck, the top beneath the corset had only one gauzy sleeve so Max's other arm was painted around her wrist with a similar pattern to her face. The rest of her bare arm was blank, but every muscle jumped from it in the low lighting and made her look even more menacing.

He stopped a few feet from her and took in the whole picture. She was terrifying, not just the costume, but the look on her face was challenging to anyone who looked as though they might approach. He smiled, knowing she was probably uncomfortable and looking for a fight. He caught her eye and she slowly grinned along with him. Her dark red lips moved away from her teeth in the smile and Danny could see that she actually had extensions on her canines to make it appear as though she had fangs. They even looked real. Bells never did anything halfway. He was now happy Tom had made them go with the KISS boots, if they hadn't, she would have towered over him. People were giving her a wide berth and she seemed pleased with that result.

"You look scary," Danny braved the evil grin on her face.

"Scary isn't exactly what I was going for," she answered, her voice low trying to disguise how uncomfortable she was. "But I'll take it," a smile breaking onto her face again, revealing the excessively long and pointed canines.

"Where did you get those teeth?" Danny couldn't help but ask.

"Oddly enough, there are a lot of places in London that make and apply fangs for people. Apparently there is a huge base of vampire fans here and a lot of people actually want these as permanent fixtures."

"Weird."

"My thoughts exactly," she shrugged. "Like the Spaceman getup." (Frehley, Lead guitar and vocals in Kiss) "I'm guess Tom had a lot to do with that one."

"Yeah, it was Dougie's idea but Tom took it to the next level. Man, Tom's going to freak when he sees that you have fangs."

"I'm glad he got really into it so I'm not the only one in weird makeup. Bells set her friends on my face and my outfit. I look ridiculous."

"Are you kidding?" Danny was amazed she actually felt that way. "You give sexy a whole new meaning." Oops. He hadn't really meant to say that.

"What?" Max looked stunned.

"Can I take that back?" Danny asked hopefully. Max nodded quickly. It was true, she did look sexy, but Max still believed Danny thought of her as one of the guys. That's the way it had always been before and she wouldn't take well to that changing too quickly. Although he had to admit to himself that since they'd been spending time together, he noticed a difference in how he thought about her from when they were kids. They had grown up like brothers, beating on each other and always competing for everything. She had just been one of the guys back then. And if he was being honest, she was kind of a better guy than he had been, tougher and more athletic. But now she was different, not just physically, although that was true too. She had a different attitude. The way she was around Christopher and the way she handled herself in interviews and around others was quite different too. She was still the person he had grown up with and loved, but she had evolved into so much more. He was really enjoying getting to know the new stuff about her and had found it easy to see her as a girl now. He actually found that she was really beautiful in her own right. Not like Bells was pretty and cute, but because of her confidence and demeanor.

The party went quite well; the boys costumes were a hit, Bells and her friends were pounced on by every single gentleman in the place and a couple single females, and Max successfully avoided most people by looking terrifying.

"So are you going to chat her up, mate?" Harry and Danny had been standing together watching all their friends dance and Danny hadn't expected this question.

"Who?" Danny was honestly confused.

"Max, you thick idiot," Harry looked at him incredulously. "She's looking fit tonight."

"She looks scary and besides, if I tried chatting her up she would probably kick my ass," Danny replied, thinking it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Can I?" Harry actually seemed serious.

"Go ahead," Danny couldn't wait to see this. "Be my guest." Harry had an ability to get almost any woman he wanted, but knowing Max, he was about to get shot down or shamelessly used. Danny couldn't be sure which one quite yet.

******

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned slowly wondering who had decided to brave my frightening appearance. Really I didn't think I looked that scary but people had been dodging around me all night, so I guess I did, but that could be my discouraging look. I was not all that happy about having crazy makeup, heels, or a skirt. But Bells had been so excited I had agreed to everything she wanted, although now I was probably disappointing Bells with my scowl. I saw the Catman (Chirss, drummer) standing beside me. I knew it was Harry but couldn't figure out why he would be standing there. He had barely spoken to me since I'd met him and after I manhandled him before their gig a while back so I couldn't imagine what he might want.

"Are you having a good time?" He asked me. I could be wrong but I was fairly sure he was trying to use a charming tone.

"Not really," I decided to answer honestly. "Can I do something for you?"

"Well…" he looked momentarily stunned at my directness. "I was wondering if you'd like a drink."

"Oh, no thank you," I may be a bit of a bitch, but I can still be polite.

He seemed to gain confidence at the politeness of my answer. "Well, come dance with me then." He extended a hand that he clearly expected me to take. I took it and found myself being pulled unceremoniously toward the large group of people dancing in Tom and Gi's living room. I looked hastily around the room for Danny or even Dougie to give me an idea of what was happening to me right now. I caught Danny's eye and saw him smiling with an overly amused look on his face. Oh crap, Harry really may have been attempting to chat me up and I missed it and now I am in a situation that I have no desire to be in. Now how to get out of this? Danny was now laughing so I had no expectation for him to help me. My next thought was Dougie and I looked around anxiously for him. No such luck.

So I was stuck dancing with Harry. If he was anyone else, I probably would have flat out refused, but it would hurt Danny's feelings if I was that mean to his friend. Now I know I seem like the type of person who doesn't ever dance, and generally that is completely true. But, according to Bells, I can at least move without looking like a complete idiot. We were easily the two tallest people on the dance floor but at least I didn't feel like people were watching us. Except Danny, who was still giving me a wicked grin from where he was standing. As far as dancing goes, it was fine, but Harry was being a bit too forward with his hand movements and if they weren't removed from where they were laying on my hips soon, I was going to flip. Which would be bad because even with heels on, I could put that boy in the hospital.

Dougie's Demon face suddenly appeared in front of me and without thinking I gave him the 'please help me' look. He looked confused for a moment but one glance in the direction of Danny told him all he needed to know. He grasped my hand, pretended to politely ask Harry if he could cut in, and swept me away without waiting for an answer. Instead of letting me go as I expected him to, he wrapped an arm around my waist and began dancing with me. The kid had no rhythm, but I found myself having far more fun than I had with Harry, so I went along with it. Dougie even had me laughing as we moved around the dance floor. Normally, we were almost exactly the same height, so even with his silver boots, I was taller because of my stupid heels.

I actually began having fun. I'm pretty sure my scowl was even gone. Dougie and I had a blast spinning around the floor and making fools of ourselves. He took me into the kitchen because we were warm from being surrounded by so many people. I perched myself on one of their high stools as Dougie started rummaging through their fridge.

"Do you want something to drink?" he called, head still hidden by the door.

"Anything with no alcohol and no carbonation," I said. Realizing how high maintenance I sounded, I laughed. "Sorry, I sound crazy. Our coaches always really high health expectations in training and it's kind of a habit now."

"No worries," Dougie answered with a cheeky grin on his face. "We're at Tom's, there is definitely some juice in this fridge somewhere."

He pulled two juice boxes out of the fridge and handed me one before poking a hole with the straw into the other for himself.

"So now that we can actually hear each other, can I ask you a question?" Dougie asked, looking fairly ridiculous dressed as the Demon and drinking from a juice box.

"Sure," I answered, knowing I probably looked just as silly with my insane face paint and fangs.

"What was Danny like when you were kids? He has tons of embarrassing stuff on me and I've got nothing on him."

"That's probably because it takes a lot for him to be embarrassed. He was probably just how you would expect him to be. He was really into music and tried to start bands on occasion. He and Vicky had a band for a while, if you could call it that. The other kid moved away though and it kind of fell through. He tried to teach me the bass so I could take over, but I was really not very good."

"You play the bass?"

"Not well, I was able to get by enough to help them out when we were kids, but not anymore. I think it was his payback for me teaching him to play football and then beating him all the time."

"Didn't he ever win?"

"On occasion, but it was rare. When we were really young we often got into fights before we even managed to finish the game. I gave that boy more bloody noses and black eyes than most kids have in their whole lives."

"You used to beat up Danny?" Dougie voice got suddenly excited.

"Yeah," I was surprised Danny hadn't said anything but I guess having his friends find out he was beaten up by a girl a lot as a kid was not exactly something he would want to have happen. "All the time, until he got bigger than me anyway. His mum would get so mad at us. But even with all the crap I put him through, he was never scared of me."

"You say that like it's surprising," he seemed to think being afraid of me would be silly. Little did he know.

"It is," I wondered what the best way to make Dougie understand would be. "Most people in our school were scared of me. The girls avoided me because they didn't understand me. The idea that I would rather play ball than get dressed up or wear makeup was weird to them. And most of the guys knew I could beat them up. Danny had gotten a reputation as a loser when we were kids because everyone knew I beat him up, but when we were older everyone left him alone because he was friends with me."

"Why would they have given him trouble in the first place? Danny's a cool guy."

"I know that, but kids that age don't think being different is cool yet, right? He played guitar until his fingers bled sometimes. Kids don't understand that kind of passion. But, like I said, people left him alone. Particularly after the time this guy in the grade above us was saying nasty stuff about Danny and I set him straight. Although I don't think Danny actually knows about that."

"What happened?" Dougie was curious in a good way. He wasn't shy about asking questions that he really wanted the answers to.

"Well, this guy was making rude comments about Danny. This would be around the time there was a bet going on about who could get me into bed first, because teenage kids are horrible and actually plan stuff like that. So I talked this guy into meeting me after school, letting him think he might be getting lucky. I blackened both his eyes, gave him a bloody nose, sprained his wrist, and made sure he wouldn't be able to stand for a while with a well place kick to the balls. He came to school two days later and said he had been in a car accident. Most everyone knew that wasn't really what happened but no one ever said anything. I didn't even get into trouble because the kid wouldn't tell anyone what really happened. But from that point onward people stayed clear of me and at least didn't say anything mean about Danny anymore. I feel kind of bad about it in that he got a lot less girls than he would have because most were afraid of me, which sucks for him. Although, when he had that kiss-and-tell back at the beginning of your career, I may have sent a message through Bells that if anything like that ever happened again I would be forced to intervene. Notice it never happened again."

Dougie stared at me open-mouthed. I had shocked him into silence. I knew he was the quiet one of the four, but still. I took another drink from my juice box, giving him time to come around. He didn't. Unfortunately, I feel it's necessary for people to realize what type of person I am before they get to close to me. Dougie and I got along quite well and I wanted him to know who I was before he created any pre-conceived notions about what he could expect from me. He looked like he was still unable to think of anything to say. Which is why it was really convenient that Danny walked in soon after.

"What going on in here?" He asked looking back and forth from Dougie to myself.

"Nothing much," I said, shrugging. "Just getting away from all the noise and having a little chat."

"What were you talking about?"

"What a loser you were in school," I answered with a mysterious grin.

"I was NOT," Danny took offense and even Dougie managed a giggle at this.

"Right, my mistake. Sorry Dougie, every story I told you must have been about someone else. I don't know what I was thinking," I was still grinning. Danny had to know that he hadn't done anything when we were young to be embarrassed about. He had at least been the normal one of the two of us.

Dougie laughed again and, finishing his juice box, went back to the party.

Danny turned to glare at me, although it wasn't convincing because I can read him well enough to know when he's really angry. "What did you tell him?"

"Oh, nothing about you he didn't already know," I said easily. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Why was he looking all uncomfortable when I came in?" cute the way he was worried that I had traumatized his best mate someway.

"I think I scared him. Stories about me when we were younger rarely paint me in a very pleasant light," I said, relaxing against the counter. I was now realizing how nice it was to be off my feet. Stupid heels were a pain in the butt.

"You must have some nice stories about yourself," there was a grin creeping into his voice, likely because he knew there weren't any.

"Well, the nicest stories I can come up with involved me sticking up for someone, which usually involved me hurting someone else."

"Oh, Yeah," he said slowly, pretending it was news to him. He walked up behind me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "The good news is your not scary anymore."

I looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"Ok, well you are, you're just getting better at hiding it from other people. Well, except for tonight because you look terrifying," he was smiling down at me. "And I still think your fangs are sexy, but I really don't know why."

I laughed and stood up to face him. His arms were open and he had a puppy dog look on his face just asking me to step into them. I held back for a second so he stepped forward and wrapped both arms around me, giving me little choice but to hug him back.

"You really think my fangs are sexy?" I asked into his neck. I felt him shiver.

"Just a little bit," he was smiling again, I could hear it.

I couldn't help myself, he was always so sweet and even though he looked crazy right about now, what with the white and silver makeup on his face and the wild black wig, he was still really cute. I kissed his neck lightly then opened my mouth to rake my teeth, emphasizing the fangs of course, across where his soft skin ran over his jugular. He almost jumped out of my arms and looked adequately confused by my action. Can't say I blamed him, I surprised myself a bit too. I winked and smiled then walked from the room back to the party.

************************************************************************

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	14. Chapter 14

Danny was shocked at the contact of her lips on his neck and jumped away from her when she drew those fangs across the sensitive skin. He didn't know what to say, because as surprised as he had been, he had also really enjoyed the feeling. And not just the feeling, he'd also enjoyed knowing it was her. Max smiled easily at him, as though nothing had happened, and gracefully walked back into the other room.

He stood silently for a moment regaining the breath he had lost when he gasped in surprise and went back to rejoin the party.

"Dude," Dougie said when he saw him, "you look like you just saw a ghost. Or maybe it's just your face paint, I really can't tell."

"Yeah," Danny said, trying to avoid the subject at the moment. "What did you and Max talk about?"

"How scary she is," Dougie said. "Well, that's not what we talked about, but it's kind of the message I got."

"She's really not as bad as it sounds most of the time," Danny assured him. He wanted his friends to be comfortable around Max and her seeming frightening wasn't going to do him any good.

"She really cares about other people," Dougie stated the fact.

"Yep," Danny said hoping that was what Dougie had pulled from whatever conversation they had.

"But she doesn't really go about it the right way."

_Oh Boy_, Danny thought, "What did she tell you exactly?"

"Well, a story or two, but that's not it. It's the way she tells them. Like beating people up is second nature to her. She was all off-handed about it and she didn't really seem to think she'd done anything wrong," Dougie had spoken to Max on several occasions prior to this. He had heard about her aggressiveness and it shouldn't have surprised him. Danny took interest in the fact that Dougie only seemed to notice the sincerity of everything when he realized she didn't really feel bad about it.

Danny sighed, realizing this was going to take some damage control. "I don't know what she told you exactly, but look at it from her point of view. I'm guessing her story involved someone who couldn't or wouldn't stand up for themselves was being harassed and instead of talking to an adult, mainly because she had a great distrust of adults at the time, she took matters into her own hands. She mistrusted adults because all of the ones in her life were screwed up. Then, when Bells was about seven, she told a teacher that her dad beat up her sister and the teacher told her not to exaggerate. When Max heard that story she flipped and forbade Isabella from telling anyone else. You have to realize she would never have hurt anyone who wasn't capable of defending themselves. And it's not like she had great examples when she was growing up. Her dad was the scariest man I know and I only saw him like twice. He tried to solve his problems by hitting his daughter, so for a long time that's how she solved them too."

"But she doesn't even feel bad about it," Dougie was more worried about this than anything else. Danny thought it was because he had grown to like her quite a bit and was just confused by this new information.

"Sure she did and she still does now. She used to feel so ashamed when we got in trouble when we were little, she wouldn't show it, but I could tell she felt like she let Mum down. And I'd also admit that I'm certain there are situations that she feels no remorse for. I think she might have beaten up one of Bells ex-boyfriends, but I'm not sure. There was definitely a guy a year up that she took out, but she was careful not to do any permanent damage. You can see how she wouldn't feel bad about that, you would do the same for Jazz, wouldn't you?"

"I guess," Dougie seemed to understand this logic better. "What if you found out she hurt someone because she was protecting you?" His question seemed casual enough and Danny didn't think anything of it.

"I hope she never did. But I trust her judgment enough to know that if she ever had, she had a good reason," Danny thought back to school and what it had been like. He hadn't been popular but the bully type guys had left him alone. Actually when they got to be about fifteen the bully type guys kind of stopped acting that way to all the "loser" kids. Retrospectively it might have been because they knew Max would stand up for them and she was a force to be reckoned with.

"You really think she feels bad?" Dougie was the type of guy who acted like he didn't care about stuff and was a bit of a nutter, but he still needed to be reassured about stuff like this. Danny wasn't positive, but he thought Doug had been bullied when he was in school and it would make sense that he didn't like the idea of someone he was friends with being like that.

"Absolutely," Danny assured him. "Just remember that she never picked on anyone else. She never started it, she only ever stuck up for others who needed it."

A smile broke on to Dougie's face, "so she's like Robin Hood, always sticking up for the underdog?"

Danny laughed out loud at the reference, remembering the night Bridget had split from her husband and he and Max had taken care of Chris. "I guess you could say that. She's always looking out for other people. It's just the way she is. And don't ever tell her I told you this, but my guess would be that she was subtlety letting you know what type of person she used to be, not only gage your reaction, but to warn you not to expect her to be loving and fun."

"I guess that's kind of nice of her in a totally twisted and roundabout way," Dougie conceded, although he did look slightly confused.

"Yeah," Danny said smiling, "you'll get used to her eventually."

"So were you really a loser in school?" Dougie was really grinning now.

Danny punched Doug in the shoulder, knocking him off balance in his platform boots so Doug tripped a little and turned to glare at Danny but started to laugh. "Honestly Doug?" Danny asked when Dougie had righted himself. "Let's just say I'm really happy I had Max because she was my only steady friend."

******

I had adamantly decided to look happy for the rest of the evening because Gi and Tom had gone to a lot of trouble to make the night fun for everyone. Harry had bothered to come by me and talk again but I brushed him off. He seriously wasn't my type and I'm not a moron, he'd paid me little attention up until today, which meant one of two things. One, he hadn't been laid in a while and was hoping to get lucky or two, he had a thing for vampires. Either way, not for me.

Bells and her friends were twinkling around some guys they undoubtedly found quite attractive. I didn't but Bells and I had very different ideas about what made a boy fit. She was more into the adorable blond haired, blue eyed, beach boy look. I was basically into whoever didn't scare too easy as long as they weren't creepy or trying to use me for something. Well, that's not actually fair. I used to be fine with guys using me for sex because I was using them right back. I'm not like that anymore, but I have become quite proficient at the bedroom stuff because of it.

The living embodiment of Starchild meandered up beside me where I was resting against a back wall observing the partygoers around me.

"Having fun?" Tom asked through his cherry red lips. I automatically smiled at his costume. As a group the guys were ridiculous and crazy and Tom was the glue that held them all together, anyone could see that. Sure, they make fun of him all the time for his goofy interests and for lacking the desire to party like the others but they wouldn't change a thing about him.

"Of course," I grinned back at him. His jaw dropped. "What?"

"You have fangs," his response came out breathless. A look of pure excitement was evident on his face. He suddenly turned around. "Gi get over here," he called to where she was having a quick chat with Bells beside the guys her friends had managed to pick up. She glanced over at him, nodded quickly, and went back to talking to Bells for a moment. When she wrapped up their conversation, she headed our way.

"What's up?" she asked casually stepping up to both of us but giving be a wary look I had come to expect around her. We never really talked so she hadn't had a chance to become more comfortable around me. She looked amazing though. She was a witch, but not your normal pointed-hat, broom-carrying witch. She had taken her look from Helena Boham Carter's look in the Harry Potter films. The wild hair and outfit seemed to fit her and she looked outrageously spectacular. She was even doing the crazy walk.

"Max, smile at Gi," Tom was bursting with excitement, although I still haven't really figured out why my fangs caused him to act this way. Danny said he would flip but I didn't actually expect him too. But I did what I was asked, although it was a slightly confused smile.

Gi's face lit up just like Tom's had and she grabbed my wrist to pull me toward the kitchen where she could see better. Tom followed along behind us both. It took a lot of self-control to not wrench my wrist from her grasp, but I managed. I didn't want to hurt her feelings with my crazy paranoia about being led places and about people holding on to me.

"Wow," she stated when she had me sitting on a stool once again. My feet were happy. "Those are awesome." She tilted my chin up toward the light, "you can't even seen the seem of where your tooth meets the cap."

"Thanks, I guess," I wasn't used to being the centre of attention for stuff like this.

"Sorry," Gi took a sudden small step back, as though she remembered that I was supposed to make her uneasy. "I'm just not used to someone getting as into it as I do."

I smiled at her. I didn't want her to be uncomfortable around me so I figured the least I could do would be to be nice. "Yeah, Bells took care of the costume and the make up so I figured if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. Plus, I think they look really cool." I let her in on my sad little secret. That's right, I, Toma Maxwell, the bad-ass of the football World Cup, found my fake vampire fangs looked really cool. I think that makes me a dork, but I'm officially cool with that.

"They really do," Gi sat down next to me, Tom standing behind her. "They pull the whole look together." The change in her attitude toward me was instantaneous. Not that it had been bad before, she was just anxious around me but I could tell that would never again be a problem.

We chatted for a while about the ridiculousness of all our costumes. I made sure to complement both of them, particularly Tom on getting all the boys to follow along so completely. They really did look amazing. Bells breezed in and snapped a photo of Gi and myself. She promised me she had already captured one of all four boys as well. The comfort level I was beginning to feel with Giovanna snuck up on me faster than I would have expected. Normally, it takes months for me to be able to stay in a prolonged conversation with any one person, but we seemed to manage quite well.

Feeling they had left their guests for long enough, both Tom and Gi decided to re-enter their party and I followed for lack of anything better to do. A loud welcoming voice echoed in my ears when I walked back into the living room. Vicky catapulted toward me, seemingly out of nowhere. I caught her smaller frame as she smashed into me, laughing as she did so. She was rocking a complete pirate ensemble. Her pirate hat seemed to be equipped with beaded dreads. The outfit itself kind of reminded me of a female's version of what Captain Jack Sparrow looked like in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies with an eye patch and stuffed parrot to make it perfect.

"Hey Sis," her laughter was contagious.

"Hey," I answered quickly. "Where have you been? The party's been going on for hours."

"I have other friends you know. Unlike some people, I don't just hang out with my younger sibling" she rolled her eyes in my direction. I knew not to take that as an insult so much as a friendly poke at the fact that I'm not that great at making new friends. "I was at another party, but I promised Tom I would stop in because he's the greatest host of all time." She spun to hug Tom and Gi too. Both of whom were already laughing at her antics. Danny and Vicky were so obviously brother and sister. They were both ready-made performers with the ability to make anyone and everyone feel comfortable but also to make them laugh.

"I'm a little tipsy," she was saying to me after she found herself a bottle of beer. "But in the best possible way, of course."

"Did you already catch Danny and Bells?" I asked her.

"Yep, saw Danny the minute I walked it. Don't they look awesome? Tom is so good at stuff like that, although I bet it was Dougie's idea first." She read their group dynamic better than anyone who worked with them, except maybe Fletch.

"Right in one," I answered still laughing.

"And Bells looks all beautiful too," she was smiling up at me know. "An angel is the perfect look for her. Isn't it?"

"Yeah, you look pretty great yourself. That costume is great, I'd trade you in a second."

"Sorry, no can do. All the boys are loving the terrifyingly beautiful vampire in their midst right now. I would hate to deprive them of that."

"Whatever," I smiled and brushed off her comment.

"Think what you want Sis, but from where I'm standing almost everyone in this room has checked you out once. And that is not limited to just the men."

I laughed at her final comment. I forget how much I miss having an older sister sometimes. Danny and I were kind of like brothers, but if Vicky had her way when we were young it would never have been that way. Vicky was the first person to try and teach me about make up, hair, and boys. She was definitely the person who had taught all that to Bells and I guess I listened and picked up a bit, but at the time I wasn't really interested. Sometimes, she and I would make dinner together if their mum was going to be home late from work, because goodness knows Bells and Danny were both impossible in the kitchen. While we hadn't spent a great deal of time together overall, it was in those moments that I knew what it was like to have someone else helping me take care of my sister. Vicky taught me a lot of what I knew in the kitchen and I taught her what I knew too. We reciprocated like that and it gave us a sisterly bond. It was very different from her's and Bells', but it was strong just the same.

Vicky was an instant star at the party, flitting from group to group, able to make comfortable conversation with everyone she came into contact with. I watched her jump around and talk to everyone, amazed at how easy she made it seem. Dougie slipped his arm over my shoulders and leaned against the wall next to me.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" he leaned his head over and said in my ear over the sound of the music.

"What do you mean?" I wasn't sure quite what he was talking about.

"Vicky. And Danny, Tom, Gi, and Harry for that matter, even Bells. The way they are all able to just talk to people. I just wonder what it's like sometimes," he didn't sound sad, just confused.

"Yeah," I gazed out at all the people he just listed talking and smiling with friends and with people they had just met. "I know what you mean. Is it a bad thing that we can't do it?"

"I don't think so. Tom always says it's a personality quirk of mine that make people think I'm cute. I used to think it sucked that I couldn't talk in interviews without embarrassing all of us, but now it's part of my image. And you have nothing to worry about because you fake comfort really well. Just because you don't like mingling doesn't mean you're bad with people. At least, that's what Tom always says to me right after he warns me not to talk in an upcoming interview." Dougie was laughing at himself now. I really like this kid, he's a doll.

I was ready to crash for the night. I'm not really a night person to begin with and my feet really hurt. I held out for as long as I could for Bells' sake because I could tell she and her friends were having a great time. Finally the party started to slowly dissipate. It was two in the morning and my eyes were practically falling shut. Bells whirled up to me in a white blur explaining that she and her friends were ready to head home. I peeled myself away from a chair I had arranged myself in and gratefully followed her toward the door. Her friends were already thanking Tom and Gi for hosting such a great party and Bells instantly jumped on them as well, gushing about what a spectacular time she had. I was last out the door before which Dougie, Tom, and Gi all gave me huge hugs and final words of praise for the ridiculous outfit.

Outside I felt like the air was so much fresher than in, even though it was quite cold and one of my arms was bare. Bells had hailed a cab faster than I've ever seen someone do at two in the morning on Halloween but I guess the innocent angel thing was probably hard for a middle-aged cabbie to refuse. Right before I stepped into the front, Bells and her friends had demanded the back, I heard someone calling my name. I turned back to see Danny trying to hurry towards us in his platform boots. I leaned into the cabbie to ask him to wait a moment and met Danny halfway so he wouldn't hurt himself.

"You didn't say goodbye," he gave a token pouty look that probably got girls to think he was adorable, not going to work on me though.

Sorry, I didn't think about it," he was extending his arms for another hug so I stepped into them. His embrace was warm and tight, reminding what I liked about having a family again. I pulled away first and looked up at him to thank him for a good time but before I could say anything his lips came to rest gently on mine. I barely felt it because the brush was so soft and my lips were so cold from the wind outside. He pulled away before I could even think twice about it, punched me in the shoulder, and said goodbye and that he would call me tomorrow.

I walked quickly back to the cab and stepped into the front seat and the driver proceeded to take us home. Bells' friends were going to crash with us for the night so we all piled out of the cab. Luckily my sister and her friends made really responsible decisions for their ages and none of them had too much to drink. I would be in a total panic all the time if I ever had to worry about her being in a state of drunkenness where she wouldn't be able to make the right decisions for herself and I was so grateful she was careful about all the type of stuff. Goodness knows I wasn't when I was her age. The scars that grace my knuckles are proof of that.

We all removed as much of our costumes as we could before we crashed, which meant that I, at least, would have black smears all over my face in the morning and paint all over my pillow when I woke up, but I couldn't bring myself to clean it all off when I was this tired. I'll get over it.

I crawled into my bed after changing into the most comfortable pjs I could find. I thought sleep would be the easiest thing ever as I was so exhausted, but as much as I had managed to push Danny kissing me out of my mind while I was getting home, it was stuck in my mind now. Why would he have done that? To be fair, I kissed him first, but not on the lips so it shouldn't count. Maybe I gave him the wrong idea, which would be really bad. I worked it over and over in my mind until I came to the only realization that makes sense. It was a friendly thing, nothing more, which is why he gave me a punch in the shoulder afterward. No big deal.

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	15. Chapter 15

**So Sorry To all my amazing readers for taking so long to update, but I was on Holiday in Chicago and then I started work, so I've been super busy.**

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"Max, why does it get so cold in winter?" Christopher and I were walking hand-in-hand dressed in snowsuits, boots, and mittens. He had been coming up with questions similar to this one all day long. I did my best to answer them in a way he would understand, but also made sure I wasn't making up a bunch of rubbish. Like when parents tell kids that leaves turn brown on trees because they get bored of being green or something. Kids are not that stupid, and they hate it when adults are condescending like that.

"Do you know what makes it warm in summer?" I asked him to gage how much he knew.

"The sun," his answer was simplistic but completely right.

"Well, the earth isn't straight up and down, it kind of tilts sideways a bit," I showed him the angle with my arm. "So sometimes the top part is closer to the sun, that's the part England is on, so it's summer and it's warm. But the other half of the year it's further from the sun so it's colder and we have winter."

Chris looked terribly thoughtful as he nodded his head along with my explanation. I doubted it made perfect sense, but the kid has wisdom beyond his years, so who am I to say.

Bridget was in court with Aaron today so Chris had become my responsibility for the afternoon. We were going to the park even though it was a week into November and quite cold. Really good packing snow had fallen during the night and Chris really wanted to build a snowman. Danny had called earlier and, when he heard our plans for the day, had practically begged to be allowed to come along. I hadn't hesitated in the slightest in saying yes because I knew Chris would love it and I was willing to pull out all the stops to keep him cheerful today. He was a smart kid and knew something had been going on with his mum lately and was also fully aware that it had something to do with his dad. He'd asked me why his dad wasn't living with him anymore and trying to explain divorce to the effected four-year-old is next to impossible. He was always taught to work out his problems and it was hard to explain to him that sometimes grown-ups couldn't do that.

We approached an open field area in the park with no equipment and loads of fresh snow to play with. It was a school day for older kids so the area was almost empty but for a few other little children with their mums or nannies. We had begun to roll up the first snowball for the bottom of our snowman when several rambunctious voices traveled to our ears. We turned together and Chris took off like a shot to four bodies trudging our way. Danny had brought the whole motley crew along for this day in the snow and they were all looking ready for it. Three of them were wearing quite normal snow gear like they would wear for skiing or sledding, but Dougie had managed to find a snowsuit that made him look exactly like a puffier version of Spiderman, right down to hood he had pulled over his head and snapped under his chin to keep it from falling. I laughed out loud at his appearance and Chris looked at him in awe.

"That is the awesome-est snowsuit I ever saw," Chris mumbled out is shock, his horrible grammar was a bad habit when he was surprised.

"Thanks Dude," Dougie's voice rang out clear.

As they approached, Chris's mittened hand held tightly in Dougie's, I could see all of their identical grins at the thought of spending the day in the snow.

"I can't believe you guys let him out like that," I laughed.

"You say that like you think we have some control over him," Tom exaggerated a sigh. "We don't."

"Where do you even get a snowsuit like that?" I asked, gulping down my laughter.

"I can't tell you that, if everyone knew then they would all get one and I couldn't be an individual anymore," Dougie stated this as though it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Yeah, some how I really don't think so, Mate," Harry replied looking over at him incredulously.

"Has anyone told him he's not an individual if he's copying Spiderman?" I whispered to Tom, who giggled.

"Well I think he looks cool," Chris stuck up for his hero.

"Thanks, Little Man," Dougie glanced down at him. "I think you look pretty rad yourself." Chris looked down at his own royal blue snowsuit and back up with a grin on his face.

"Thanks Dude," he replied. Hearing a word like 'dude' come out of that little boy's mouth was priceless but I knew he wouldn't appreciate it very much if I laughed so I kept it in. Chris tugged Dougie's hand until he followed him over to where our first snowball laid and they began pushing it together.

"It completely blows my mind to watch them together," Danny stated to the rest of us. "I would have sworn Dougie was scared of kids."

"Me too," Tom answered. "He always avoids little kids. I think he's afraid of saying something inappropriate and scaring them for life or something."

"You guys have to give him more credit," Harry said casually, his arms crossed over his torso as he watched his young friend playing with Chris. "He just doesn't know where to start. I think he always figured that, since he was uncomfortable around people, he'd be bad with kids too. But if you will all remember, Chris made the first move, so to speak. He told Dougie at the benefit that is bandana was cool and he wanted his like that too. The kid broke the ice and Dougie realized that he relates well to him, even though he's only four."

I was shocked at how well Harry had remembered that night. I had thought he was all wrapped up in his models. Danny and Tom didn't seem to think this power of observation was strange but looked thoughtful instead as though finally had a piece of a puzzle that now allowed them to figure out so much more of the picture.

"You know," Tom said after a while, "that makes sense. Does it really surprise anyone that Dougie understands how a four-year-old thinks? He basically is one if you ignore that fact that he's a horny dog. How long do you think it will be before he realizes kids are a total chick magnet?"

"No way am I allowing him or any of you to use my friend's child to pick up girls," I laughed along with the rest of them.

"Let's go help," Tom added before plunging forward into the snow, a child-like glow arriving on his already pink face.

The six of us managed to make three large snowballs, the second two just slightly smaller than the one made before it so our snowman would hold the proper shape. It actually was a great help that all the boys came to help because after they had made the snowballs so big, it took Danny, Harry, and myself to get them properly stacked. Dougie was making sure Chris was back far enough that he didn't get inadvertently smushed if we dropped it and Tom was 'supervising.'

Tom made Chris's day by pulling a huge carrot, a handful of colourful stones, and five actual lumps of coal. Where he managed to find those I will never know. Tom is going to make the best dad ever, because it would seem he is always the one to think of the important details such as these. The snowman being about twice Chris's height, he had to ask Danny to pick him up so he could decorate the face properly. When Danny let him down our new jolly friend, whom Chris had named "Chuck," had two big, black eyes, an elongated orange nose, a fun coloured smile, and three big, black buttons running down his front.

"It's missing something," Harry states while circling the large man of snow with a jokingly thoughtful look on his face.

"He needs a scarf and a hat," Chris cried out joyfully.

"Of course," Harry smiled down at him and pulled off his own red knit cap to place it on Chuck's bald white head. Tom followed suit and unraveled his red scarf and wrapping it around Chuck's bare neck. We had a complete snowman who looked quite happy and comfortable in his fancy winter clothing. I pulled a small camera from a zippered inside pocket of my large coat and pulled off my glove so I would have a better chance of hitting the right button. I took pictures of all five boys and the snowman. At one point Chris ran over to me saying he wanted a picture with me too. Danny followed and took the camera from my hand and was snapping away before I was even near Chuck. When I tucked it away the boys began a snowball fight, but were thankfully careful enough not to hit Chris or each other in the face so we managed to escape without many injuries. Tom grabbed his scarf and Harry's hat as we were leaving. The day had gone wonderfully well and I was thanking God for having graced my life with these great guys, all five of them as I had decided Harry wasn't so bad after all, when I had to deal with a little blip in an otherwise perfect day.

The boys were piling into their car after saying goodbye and I turned to Chris to place him in the back seat of our own car to see him standing resolutely with his arms crossed resolutely over his chest.

"I don't want to leave," he stated in a fighting tone. "I want to stay and play."

"Chris, honey, it's time to go. We're all freezing," I answered hoping he would follow along when he saw I wasn't looking for a fight. Kids pick up on the emotions of adults better than you might think.

"No," he stated again, louder this time. The guys poked their heads back out of the car. None of them had ever seen Chris act this way before. And I'll be the first to admit it was really rare. "I don't want to go yet. I want Dougie to stay too, and Danny, Tom, and Harry." His stance showed his mind wouldn't be changed. I could just pick him up and put him in the car, but he would throw a fit.

I kneeled next to him so he wouldn't feel like I was towering over him while he was upset. "Sweetheart, we have to go now. The guys have to go back to work and we have to go see your mum."

"NO, I want to say and I want them to stay too." He was yelling now and caused Dougie to get out of the car to try and help which was nice of him but I didn't think it was going to go well.

"Hey Dude," Dougie said slowly, "we've got to go, but we can hang another day."

Chris turned on Dougie and glared at him. "I hate you," Chris said through gritted teeth. Dougie looked completely taken aback and kind of hurt.

"Chris, that was really mean. Could you please apologize to Doug?" I sighed hoping this wouldn't last.

"NO, none of you care. I hate you," he swung out and hit me in the stomach. I didn't hurt, but I've never known Chris to do anything violent like this. Tears were running down his cheeks as he yelled this time. I finally put everything together as Chris's tiny fists continued to drill me. Dougie looked shocked and as though he was unable to figure out what to do next but I knew what was going on, or I could at least guess at it. He was upset at his father for leaving and, being only four, didn't know how to take it out. Plus I think he was worried about others leaving him too, like me and the guys, which was why he wanted them to hang around. Aaron had pulled exactly what I was worried about. When Bridget asked him to leave, he took off and wanted little to nothing to do with Christopher now. Poor kid.

He was sobbing now as he continued to yell about how mad he was and how much he hated me. Instead of fighting back or holding him down I did the only thing I imagined could make any difference. I hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, "I love you Buddy. I'm not going to leave."

He fought me for a bit but finally gave up and wrapped his tiny arms around me as he continued to sob. Dougie still looked worried but was now more confused than anything else. Danny had exited the car too and knelt down beside me with a questioning look. I didn't know what to do with Chris at the moment. Tom gestured Danny and Dougie over and said something quietly to them. Dougie got back in the car, Danny nodded and Tom took off. Danny took the keys from my hand and indicated that I should get into the passenger seat of the car I had borrowed from Bridget. I slowly lifted Chris from the ground and as his feet came up he wrapped his legs around my waist while continuing to cry softly into my shoulder. I ducked into the passenger seat and tucked Chris safely in my lap while Danny turned on the car. He drove slowly and we whispered to each other over Chris's head. Tom had told Danny to bring us over to his place and as we pulled into the driveway Chris wiped some of his own tears and I pulled some tissues out of the glove box so he could blow his nose too. When he was calm enough, I carried him up the stairs to Tom's flat.

Danny walked right in and began stripping out of his snow gear. The guys were all sitting on the couch watching TV and turned when we came in. Their hair was damp from the snowball fight and they were cuddled under a couple large blankets to keep themselves warm. I set Chris down and Danny began to get him out of his wet snowsuit as he sniffed quietly trying to keep his tears down now that he had calmed down. I had brought a bag of dry clothes in from the car because I knew Chris would be uncomfortably wet and therefore cold. Danny took the bag from me and picked up Chris to take him to the bathroom to change. I pulled off all my gear and trudged into the living room and noticed all the guy's eyes boring into me as I crashed down on a large armchair.

"Is he okay?" Tom asked softly from the sofa.

"He will be," I said, exhaustion seeping into my voice. "I think he's upset about his dad disappearing on him. Thinking back, I'm kind of surprised this is the first time I've noticed it. He's been taking it really well up until now."

"He'll never be all the way better," Dougie said softly, his eyes looking down at his hands, which were playing with the corner of the blanket he had wrapped himself in.

"I know," I knew Dougie's dad had disappeared too and while the same thing happened to me, I was glad my dad had left so I couldn't really relate. But I was still recovering from Dad issues too, so I was with them on that note. "I'm just hoping the pain eases a bit. It doesn't help that he's only four and just doesn't understand yet."

"Understanding doesn't make it better," Dougie was still speaking quietly.

"I know that too," I whispered as Chris came back in with Danny in tow.

Chris's first action was to climb up on Dougie's lap and snuggle down into the blanket he had encircling him.

"Hey Dude," Dougie said tentatively. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah," Chris said in a small, tired voice. "I'm sorry that I said I hate you because I don't."

"It's cool," Dougie's face visibly relaxed. "Everyone has bad days." He pulled Christopher deeper into the blankets to keep him warm and eventually he nodded off to sleep. We all settled into a comfortable silence, all tired from the day in the snow.

******

Tom eventually sat up and moved toward the door, saying he needed to pick up Gi from the station because it was so cold and he didn't want her to have to walk. This shook Max from her relaxed state in the armchair and she moved as well, realizing it was time to return Chris to his mother. Creases crossed Max's face as she talked about Bridget and Danny realized she was worried about her friend having spent the day in the presence of her soon to be ex-husband. Instead of trying to extract the little boy from the blanket Dougie had carefully wrapped around him, she lifted him directly off Dougie's lap, blanket and all. His tiny arms unconsciously reached up around her neck to keep him stable as he continued to sleep.

"Just bring the blanket back whenever," Tom stated from the doorway, as he headed out into the snow. Max thanked him quietly and slipped her boots on, not bothering with a coat because she didn't want to disturb Chris, who was wrapped so tightly he really didn't require a coat either. Harry and Dougie both called out goodbyes from the sofa, not yet willing to get out of their warm bundles of blankets. As she walked toward the car, Danny gathered all of their things and followed them to the car, not noticing until it was too late that he was watching the shape of Max's hips as she moved gracefully to the back door and admiring her rear while she buckled the tiny child into his car seat in the back.

He shook himself out of it and opened the side door to put their coats, snow pants, and other articles in the seat next to the driver's seat, along with the bag with Chris's wet clothes from earlier. He waited for her to be done with Chris and as she stood up and turned around her pulled her close into his chest and kissed her gently on the cheek. He let go almost immediately because it was cold and he wanted her to get in the car so she could avoid the freezing wind.

"I'll let you drop off Christopher and give you some time to talk to Bridget before I come to pick you up, okay?" He said leaning into her window after she was in the car.

"What?" She was clearly confused as they hadn't actually talked about him picking her up. "What are you talking about?"

"It's cold out and I don't want you to walk or have to take a cab. So I'll give you time to talk to Bridget about what happened today because she's going to need someone I'm sure. But then I'll come over later to drive you home or back here if you have to go to the gym in the morning."

Instead of arguing, she simply nodded before putting the car into drive and taking off into the evening.

He figured he'd give them about an hour and head over then so went back inside to watch some more TV with the other two.

"Sucks about his dad," Harry said as soon as Danny had made his way back to the living room.

"Yeah," Danny answered easily, "he's got a lot of people who really love him though. I hope they'll all help him get through it."

"You mean you hope you'll get to help him through it," Harry said with a hint of a friendly sneer.

"What do you mean by that?" Danny asked defensively as Dougie's head shot up to stare at both of them.

"Come on," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "We've all seen how you look at her. You want to be a part of her life which means becoming part of Bridget and Chris's life too."

Danny was taken aback and also noticed Dougie looking at him with concern. "That is not what I meant," He said strongly, hoping they would drop it. "Aaron is his father, no one can replace a father to a little boy no matter what a jerk the guy actually is." He actually felt a bit of anguish at this statement. Danny knew what it was like to have a father leave at a young age, it's not something that was easy to get over. Dougie's face relaxed too. Danny assumed that meant he had been concerned about what Danny's intentions would have been and he clearly didn't want Chris to be stuck in an uncomfortable situation. It was becoming more and more clear to him how much their bass player cared for this little kid. In fact, he guessed Dougie was seeing a bit of himself in this little boy, which was what was causing the protective vibe he was getting.

"Fine," Harry sighed, although he still clearly didn't believe him. Harry just couldn't understand sometimes. Of the four of them, his upbringing had been the most 'normal' so he didn't always relate when they talked about their pasts. Dougie nodded to him though, indicating he knew exactly what Danny had meant.

About 45 minutes later, Danny eased himself off the sofa and into his car. He drove slowly hoping that the women had a chance to talk and that Bridget was okay after having a stressful day and that Max had been able to help get her through it. He was wondering if she had mentioned to Bridget Chris's little meltdown earlier. He guessed that she would, Bridget was his mother and needed to know but it would be such an uncomfortable conversation, particularly after she had spent the day with the man at fault in a courtroom.

He pulled into the small driveway and was going to honk but figured that would be rude so extracted himself from the car and headed for the front door. A couple knocks later, Bridget was standing in front of him with a strained smile on her face. He could see that the day had a negative effect on her normally calm personality. He smiled softly at her and she invited him in. Max was seated at their kitchen counter on a high stool with a large glass of ice water in her hand. There was an identical glass in front of the spot next to her, undoubtedly Bridget's. Funny how they still did that even though it was freezing out. Old habits die hard, he guessed.

Max looked tired and he wanted to wrap his arms around her but knew it wouldn't go over well.

"I wanted to thank you for helping with Chris today," Bridget said honestly. "I don't know what brought on his little tantrum, but Max says you all handled it really well."

"We all care about him," he smiled and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We'll take whatever he can throw at us and we'll keep coming back for more, especially Dougie. He's become quite attached you know. I think he likes having someone around with similar interests," Danny laughed and watched as a true smile replaced the forced one on Bridget's face.

"I'm done with Max if you want to take her," Bridget smiled.

"I love how you talk about me as though I'm a object to be pasted around," Max laughed at her friend while standing and gulping her water before taking the glass to the sink.

"Hey Chris," Bridget called back to the little boy's bedroom. "Max is leaving. Come and say goodbye please."

Chris came slowly from his room before running up to Max to hug her and say goodbye. He gave Danny a high five too, before bolting back to his bedroom. Bridget walked them both to the door and gave a meaningful look to Max who responded with the same meaningful silence. Bridget then graced Danny with a small kiss on his cheek before he followed Max out the door.

"Where to?" Danny asked once they were both seated and buckled in the car.

"My place," Max answered. "I'm not going to the gym tomorrow."

Danny directed the car to her house and the time quickly elapsed in comfortable silence. He parked at her building and she invited him up so they could both decompress before going off to be alone again. Bells was staying on campus to study and stay with a friend again. They both entered her flat dragging their feet and Max dropped her pile of wet snow clothes in the entrance hall, saying she would lay them out to dry later on.

She completely changed so that her clothing was dry. Her socks in particular had been making her uncomfortable. They lounged on the sofa and discussed Christopher's outburst that day and how it was similar to what both of them had experienced. The distinct difference between the two of them was that Danny had gotten over it to an extent and his mother taught him that violence couldn't solve the frustration he was feeling. She had taught that to Max as well but the lesson hadn't come soon enough so she still had problems controlling her anger now. There were other reasons for that too, but it all related back to the same thing. Christopher was both of their main concerns and they both decided that they would do anything in their power to help him release whatever frustration he was feeling in constructive ways and would help Bridget in whatever ways they could.

Danny was amazed at the way they were making this decision together. He was sure Max had come to this conclusion on her own but was also fairly certain that she enjoyed using him as a sounding board and appreciated his wanting to be involved with Chris as well. It was getting late and Danny needed to get back home while he was still awake enough to drive so he stood up to leave. Max had stood with him and caught his hand just as he was reaching for the door handle. He turned to face her and found her incredibly close to him, her lips lingering less than an inch from his own.

"Thank you for all your help today," she whispered, her lips now brushing against his as she spoke softly. He couldn't stand being that close to her and not being connected somehow so be brought his mouth to meet hers.

Kissing her was like, well, not quite like getting hit by a train. It was more like being strapped to the front of a train, moving a hundred miles an hour, and feeling its power, but not actually getting hurt. She moved slowly and with a purpose, knowing exactly when to apply pressure and when to pull back. He found himself wondering where she had learned to kiss like this. The guys at their school had been scared of her and she had shown no interest in them.

His mind was pulled back to the present when she somehow managed to coax his tongue into her mouth. He smiled during the kiss and felt her react to the change. Her hands were resting gently upon his chest, almost as though she were worried to move them anywhere else. Danny turned his head to deepen the kiss and placed a hand on her lower back pulling her to him and another behind her neck to control her motion. She didn't like that, he could tell, but she was trying not to fight against it for his sake. He appreciated her effort but didn't want her to be uncomfortable so released that hand and let it wrap around her waist with the other.

Max rewarded him by sucking on his bottom lip slowly. It was an instant turn-on, but he managed to hold back a moan. He couldn't help lowering his hands from her waist to her tight bum and squeezing lightly right where her bum met her upper thigh. One of her arms automatically wrapped around his neck, her hand tangling in his curly hair. Her other hand gripped his shirt in a tight fist. At least he had managed to find one small weakness of hers.

It was the most intense and powerful kiss Danny had ever experienced. It wasn't sweet, teasing, or even sexy. The only word he could think of was intense. If he weren't so comfortable with her, he might actually be afraid. But he couldn't stop it. It was like an addictive drug. He had a taste and all he wanted was more. That had never happened to him before. Normally, he would guess it was the girl, but he was pretty sure that this time it was the kiss that had him so drawn in. But maybe it was a bit of both. He could only assume that their deep connection made it feel even more powerful.

Max suddenly inhaled as though sucking the air right out of him, then she pulled away. He was left speechless and trying to catch his breath. He felt as though she had actually just sucked the air from his lungs and wasn't sure how to get it back again.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said lightly, with the tiniest of smirks dancing across her face. "We still watching a movie with the guys?" her voice was completely nonchalant.

"Uh…" he was still gulping in air. "Yeah, come on over at like eight."

"Great," she ducked past him and held the door open for him, "Bye."

"Bye," he exited her flat and walked slowly down to the car. He was still stunned. No one had ever walked away from him like that before, as though nothing had happened. Although she hadn't really walked away she had, but that was how it had felt at the time. This was so different, he didn't even know how he was feeling. He wasn't upset nor did he find it enticing. It's like it just _was_.

The kiss happened and then it was over. Simple as that. But he couldn't help but think that there must have been some meaning behind it as it had happened right as she was thanking him for helping with one of the people who was a huge part of her life and whom she loved as much as if he was her own child. But at the same time one of her questions of him early on had been, "You don't expect me to fall in love with you, right?" and at that time he hadn't. He guessed he still didn't expect it and he was still hoping to avoid being in love with her, because of what he had explained to Gi before. It just wouldn't ever work out. _But Man, that kiss was amazing._

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**mcsteph94** – I am so thankful for ALL your amazing reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying it. You really did make my day. Well, really, you made my whole week. I'm sending you an imaginary Golden Star to stick on your profile to let everyone know how awesome you are.


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok, So this chapter is SUPER short, but there is a reason.**

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The movie ended the next night and Max was sprawled across Danny's sofa, Danny laying on the floor in the center of the room. Tom and Gi had been huddled in the loveseat but were now getting up to go home. Dougie and Harry had left before the movie had even ended because they had an early morning signing the next day. Danny saw the other two out the door and returned to the couch where Max had not moved.

Instead of sitting back down where he had been earlier, he laid right on top of her. She gave him a questioning look but didn't react otherwise. His added weight didn't seem to have any effect of her, which he actually found a bit sexy.

"Are you going to crash here tonight?" He hoped the gym held enough appear for her that she would want to stay.

"Probably," she had turned her head to look at his clock, an impressive feat as his weight was still pressing down on her. "If you don't mind."

"Why would I mind?" he was honestly confused by this assumption.

"I didn't know if you needed to call in a booty call tonight or something," she grinned savagely at him. "I'm figuring it's been a while and I wouldn't want to be in your way."

"You wouldn't be in the way," he chose to tease her back. "We'd probably just invite you to join in."

Max laughed out loud. "Well I can't say I'm into that kind of play. You see, I don't get all the attention I need that way. Plus my skills aren't as obvious when I'm getting help from someone else."

She had him hooked with that one little sentence. He wanted her tonight, so much it bordered on need. But what were the chances of him actually getting her? Probably not good.

One of her hands found his chest and hope bubbled up in him for a minute, but she just pushed up at him. He was amazed at how high she had managed to lift him off of her with just that small motion. He rested both hands on either side of her head to support his own weight. He kissed her forehead gently and pulled away, standing and walking to his room.

"Come in and get pjs if you want," he called back to her. He walked into his room and heard her pull herself from the couch and go to the cupboard where he kept extra blankets and pillows. He liked that she was comfortable in his home. It made him feel like they were back to the way they used to be, when she had practically lived with him.

Danny had been debating about whether to wear track pants to bed or just stick with boxers and had just started undoing his belt when he heard the door creak open behind him. He turned and saw Max was standing leaning against the door jam.

"What?" Danny paused where he was.

"You told me to come in and get pjs, remember?" she looked at me exasperated and walked to the drawer he had already opened and began rummaging through it. Grabbing boxers and a t-shirt, she stood back up at her full height, which was almost as tall as Danny.

When she turned to look at him, she laughed "Do you need some help with that?"

Danny was confused and looked down to where she was indicating, noticing his hands were still on his belt. He let go quickly but decided to play it up.

"Are you offering?" he said with a sly smile.

Max rolled her eyes and tossed the clothes she had chosen onto his bed and took a step forward. She gripped both her hands around his belt and yanked him toward her. His sly grin was wiped from his face, shock in its place. She slowly undid the belt, looking him straight in the eye the whole time. Max pulled it through all the belt loops at once and snapped it against the bedpost in one fluid motion. Danny winced, but was so turned on it was almost painful.

"Make sure you can handle it before you make comments like that," she handed his belt back to him, grabbed his clothes from the bed, and walked back out to the couch.

Danny stood stunned for a minute and took in a couple deep breaths before following her back to his living room.

Her back was to him and she was stripping out of her jeans and t-shirt when he walked in silently. She was wearing boy-short knickers, the kind where her bum peeked out just a little at the bottom and, of course, a sports bra.

"You know, it's considered quite creepy to watch a lady changing without letting her know you are there," Max's slow voice wavered back to him.

He blushed a bit but retorted back, "I don't think that applies if she knows you are there anyway, and you'll be the first to admit you are not a lady."

She laughed and spun around giving him a full view of her chiseled abdomen. She pulled on his boxers over her knickers and stood facing him, as if daring him to make a comment.

"You know," he said slowly, "seeing a woman in my underwear is one of the sexiest things I've ever seen."

"Didn't I teach you anything about making comments like that?" Max was exasperated again. "I'm actually beginning to think you are a bit of a tease."

She was frustrating him now. He wanted to tell her what he wanted but couldn't do it. What if she thought they would have to be in some type of relationship afterwards? What if it ruined their friendship? What if…?

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**OK, so this chapter is quite a bit longer, but it falls under the 'mature' heading. So you have two choices: I can post the chapter as a new story under mature and the title would be obvious like "Just Gotta Be Happy: Mature Chapters" and you could find it there OR I let you leave it up to your imagination and move on to the next bit. Everyone let me know some way or another what you would like me to do if you get a chance, either by review or personal message or whatever.**

**mcsteph94 -** You are such a great reviewer. I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I'm glad you think Max and Danny are cute together, I kind of worry that she's not really easy to relate to and my readers won't like her because she can be a bit mean and scary.


	17. Chapter 17

**Just so everyone knows, there is an extra chapter posted with a Mature rating. You can find it by changing the commands at the JML home page OR you can go to my profile and choose it from the list there. It is not imperative to read in order to understand the story line but I wanted to give everyone the option if they wanted and obviously it is mature so I figured I would put it there instead, don't read it if you're not comfortable with that kind of content.

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Danny walked into the studio and grabbed a guitar. He had a tune running through his head and wanted to hear it from his instrument before he decided if he liked it our not. Tom walked in, but didn't say anything. He just stood and listened to Danny play and hum the tune he wanted.

When he finished, Tom asked, "Where did that come from? It's a lot different from the stuff you normally write."

"I don't know," Danny answered, as the other two filed in. "It has just been in my head all morning."

Throughout the day all three of the guys noticed something different about Danny. Normally he was the wild card of the group. Most people assumed that was Dougie, but he was usually remarkably chill. Danny was always in the throws of some crazy emotion, whether he was happy, angry, or excited, it was always really obvious and came out in the way he would play that day. Today he just seemed so calm and relaxed. It was weird.

Harry decided to ask, "Danny, what's up with you today, mate? You seem…different."

"Different how?" Danny asked confused.

"I don't know, really mellow. Like you have nothing else on your mind but the music. Which is not like you at all."

"I don't know," he was shocked. He felt different, but was surprised it was actually noticeable to his friends. Had she been able to alter him so fully?

They had one of their most successful studio days to date. They completed everything they had planned on for the day and caught up on some stuff they were behind in. It was amazing how well everything seemed to work.

At the end of the day, after making plans to go out that night to celebrate everything they had accomplished, Tom came up to Danny while he was packing up and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever was up with you today, see if you can keep it that way for a couple more days. It worked."

"I'll try," Danny smiled. "But I can't promise anything."

*****

I was lying on my couch when my phone rang and I picked up without even bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hey Max, It's Danny," came his clear voice.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Nothing really, I was wondering if you wanted to go out the me and the guys tonight. We got a lot done today and wanted to celebrate a bit."

"Thanks for the invite, but I doubt it. It's Wednesday," I said, figuring he would know what that meant. He didn't.

"So?"

"Wednesday is sister day, remember? Bells and I always spend the night together doing sister stuff."

"Oh, that's so cool that you guys still do that. Well, she's more than welcome to come. So if you decide that your sister stuff should include a bar, we'll be at McClaren's, ok?"

"Sports bar, good choice, there's got to be at least one good game on tonight. I'll run it by her and see what she thinks. It's her week to decide what we do, so you never know."

"Alright, maybe I'll see you later then."

"Ok, bye."

"Bye, Max."

Bells had come in the door halfway through the conversation and seemed to be overly interested in it.

"Who was that?" she asked casually.

"Danny," I told her. "He invited us to go out tonight with him and the guys. But I told him it was your night to pick and they're going to McClaren's so I figured you wouldn't really be interested."

"Is that the sports bar place?"

"Yeah, that's why I figured you wouldn't be interested."

"Are you kidding?" she seemed really excited now. "You are an internationally known football star right now. Being with you in a sports bar is like a free ticket to all the fittest guys in the place. Your fame is only going to last so long you know. I think we need to take advantage of it now."

I laughed. I know it sounds like she's using me, but she really isn't. She finds the whole situation ridiculous and likes to see how far we can push it. It's like her own personal form of amusement while it lasts. "Alright, I'm game. Get dressed and we'll meet them there in a couple hours."

*****

A few hours later, Danny and the rest of the band filed into McClaren's for a couple of beers and a good game of football. Well, Danny and Harry were going to watch football and Tom and Dougie were probably just going to drink and pretend to care about the game. Gi was invited and would probably show up within the hour. The grabbed a round at the bar and were going to sit down when Harry noticed a picture hanging behind the bar and pointed it out to the others. It was the article about the Women's World Cup team from the front of the paper. The team was all standing with their gold metals and in the other photo Max was jumping in the air with the flag, the same picture from the article from Sports Illustrated.

The bartender noticed their interest and sidled up to them. "She used to come in all the time her first year playing here at Oxford," he said in a slow, heavy voice.

"Who did?" Dougie was easily confused.

"Toma Maxwell," the bartender responded. "Girl was nothing but trouble back then."

"Really?" Danny was interested now.

"She got into so many bar fights we had to ban her before the year even let up," he said with a chuckle. "Too bad really, it was always entertaining to see a powerful young women kicking the ass of some drunk asshole. She was a actually a real good fighter, kept her wits about her even if she'd had a few."

"How did she get into so many fights?" Danny was still soaking up information about Max's past couple years.

"Usually there were real jerks trying to take advantage of friends of hers; others girls on the team, dorm mates, people like that. Max didn't take kindly to inappropriate male attention. I guess with all those stories coming out about he dad abusing her it makes sense. Once some guy grabbed her friend's bum and Max laid him out so fast, even the people staring straight at them missed it. Guy had a black eye for two weeks."

The bartender walked away still chuckling to himself.

"Was she really that bad?" Harry turned to Danny to ask.

"Yes," Danny answered honestly. "But her sister has a soothing effect on her, always has. During those first two years Isabella was living with my mum in Bolton while Max was here in London. She toned it down when Bells moved here."

"That's a bit scary," Tom said.

"I know," Danny sighed. He'd been standing up for Max his whole life, even when she did the wrong thing. But he really thought she'd turned around recently. At least, she had everyone else, even her coaches and teammates convinced of it. That was enough for him.

Another round later, Tom looked up from his beer and nodded toward the door. The other three turned to look and saw Max and Bells coming through the door. Max was wearing her usual outfit of jeans that were too big and a tight tee with 'Oxford' printed across the chest in bold letters. Bells looked enchanting. She was normally shorter than Max by about three inches but was making up for them with heels. Her light jeans were form fitting and her black tank showed off the thin, wispy figure she had inherited from their mother. Danny took note of the other guys in the bar turning to look at her as they entered. Max shot hard eyed looks back and them and most turned back to their tables. Isabella elbowed Max in the ribs and gave her a discouraging look. Max face softened a bit.

He heard the end of their conversation as they came up to the table. "…but if you keep giving them dirty looks you'll scare them all away."

Max rolled her eyes, "fine, I'll be good."

"No," Isabella answered. "You have to be more than good, you have to be nice. Remember, I'm using you, so you have to be good bait."

Max looked like she was going to strangle her little sister, but instead rearranged her face so it was slightly less menacing.

"Come on," Bells insisted. "At least try to look approachable."

Max sighed again and at last a genuine looking smile that finally reached her eyes crossed her face.

"Much better," Bells said triumphantly. "Hi guys," she addressed the others at the table. Max grabbed two chairs from a nearby table and held one out for Bells as she sat down, then Max flopped down into her own.

"Don't sit like a man," Isabella instructed.

Incredulity crossed Max's face at this.

"Fine sit however you want," Bells signed. "But how am I supposed to meet fit guys by using my incredibly awesome sister if my sister is being no fun?"

"Fine," Max caved. "I'm sitting how I want, but I'll get you attention if that's what you want."

Bells gave her a sweet little smile. Danny was in shock at how easily Isabella was controlling Max. Although, she probably wasn't controlling her. This had always been the way their relationship had worked. He thought back to that first day when Max had outright refused to go to the hospital, but as soon as Bells had mentioned it, it was as good as done. Max would protect her sister at all costs, but she also didn't want her to ever be upset. _It must be hard to walk that line,_ Danny thought, wondering what Max was going to do next.

"Hey Charlie," her voice echoed across the noisy bar. The bartender turned towards her. "Two over here, please."

He narrowed his eyes at her for a second, but laughed almost immediately afterwards. "Well as I live and breath," he said. "Toma Maxwell is back in my humble establishment."

Heads snapped around at her name. "I would have been back sooner," she said in a teasing tone. "But you banned me, remember?"

"I do, I do," Charlie replied. "Well to make it up to you, these two will be on the house." Danny noticed a little gleam in the man's eye.

"Well, thanks for that Charlie, I guess all is forgiven," Max accepted both beers he had brought over and turned back to the table. "And now," she said more quietly, "he's going to call everyone he knows to come down here. However, now everyone in here knows who I am. You owe me for this." She turned to Bells at this last sentence.

"Come on," she pulled Bells up by the arm.

"Where are we going?" Isabella seemed confused.

"If you want to be approached by fit men," Max explained, "you cannot be sitting at a table with four other guys. Men around will automatically assume the odds aren't in their favor and move on. So we're going to go play a game of pool. Bring your beer, but don't ever set it down."

Bells hurried to follow her and didn't even question her logic of the final statement. That was another part of the functionality of their relationship. Bells did whatever Max told her, particularly if it was in her best interest.

"Why shouldn't she set it down?" Tom was confused.

"Knowing Max, I'd bet she's paranoid about being drugged or something," Danny said off-handedly.

"Really?" Tom looked shocked at the answer.

"Yeah," Danny sighed. "She kind of thinks like a 'bad guy' so she knows better than others what to look out for." His eyes followed the girls as Max racked the balls and grabbed two pool sticks from the wall, tossing one to Bells. Immediately two guys asked to join them.

As the game was finishing and Bells was shamelessly flirting with both men, Gi walked through the door and walked to their table. She kissed Tom lightly on the lips and asked what she had missed.

"Well," Harry began with amusement. "Max is helping her younger sister pick up men and we are watching because its hysterical how much these guys are tripping over themselves."

Danny watched Max walk back toward the bar to grab another couple beers for Bells and herself while Isabella slowly removed herself from the guys and made her way back to their table.

"Back so soon?" Harry asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Max said not to spend so much time with any given guy right away because others will assume they have lost their chance and stop trying. Which means I may not end up with the best one. Besides those guys are a bit too drunk for my taste. I can do better. Hi Giovanna," she smiled and waved.

"How does Max know all this?" Danny asked curiously.

"She says its like a big game and she doesn't have time to create serious relationships so she had to be good at the game to get the best ones quickly and efficiently."

"Really?" he hadn't expected that.

"Yeah," she looked toward the bar. "Watch."

Danny turned his head to see Charlie taking the news article off the wall and handing it to Max with a pen. He watched her sign the paper as Charlie grabbed and uncapped two more beers for her. Before she could even reach toward her pocket to pay, a guy with shaggy blond hair was beside her. She turned so her back was relaxed against the bar and caught Bells eye for a split second. Isabella nodded to her sister.

"Here it comes…" Bells said with anticipation.

Danny looked on as Max said a few choice words, gently laid her hand on his wrist, and watched the guy pull out his wallet and offer to pay.

"And she's got herself a new toy," Bells said with a flourish. "Which, unless I'm very much mistaken, she is now going to pass over to me."

"Hey Bells," he heard Max call out. "Come here for a second."

Bells winked back at the table and slowly rose to meet her sister. The group of three spoke for a few minutes and as the blond guy began shifting his attention toward Isabella, Max slipped away, joining their table. She took a swig of her beer as she sat down.

"Is it really just a big game?" Harry asked as she sat down.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Bells might have said something about how you play," he said a slight blush creeping into his cheeks, which Danny had to admit was vary uncharacteristic of him.

"Generally," Max answered taking another drink. "But there are some people who can't be taken in that way. For example, I would never be able to get someone like Tom that way. His mind works differently than the rest of you. But it works better than having to develop a relationship and it gets me what I want, or what Bells wants in this case."

"Ok," Harry said. "But why not Tom? What makes him different?"

"Well, I don't know you guys that well," Max began, "but I would have to say that Tom is just too sweet to even realize that someone was flirting with him. I mean, he's nice enough that he would have paid for my drink, but he would have done it because he's nice, not because he was trying to get into my pants. Correct me if I'm wrong Gi but you probably had to drop several major signals before Tom ever asked you out."

Gi was giggling just a bit now, "Yeah, I did."

Tom was turning a slight shade of pink.

"Don't worry about it," Max said. "It's part of the reason you are able to be in a mature loving relationship and these guys get bored after a couple months. Besides guys like that are like the toys you get for Christmas, you play with them for a couple days before you move on to something else. You're like the favourite teddy bear our girl can't sleep without. It's a good thing."

Gi squeezed Tom's hand under the table to let him know she thought so too.

"Ok," Harry was still trying to grasp what she did. "How do you know all this?"

"Most people are easy to read," Max shrugged.

The conversation moved forward and Bells eventually returned. Apparently this one didn't quite live up to standards either. Harry asked her if she was really looking for a guy to take home.

Bells looked shocked, "Of course not, it's Wednesday." As if this solved everything.

Everyone at the table looked at her when she said this. Danny was the only other one who would even guess at what that meant. He laughed.

"Wednesdays are sister days," Danny said for her.

"Right," Bells agreed. "I'm only allowed to go home with Max on Wednesdays."

"And I'm only allowed to go home with Bells," Max said, she took another swig of beer. She had been nursing that for a while. When was it going to empty? Danny looked more closely at the bottle, confused. It was still full, which didn't make sense at all because he had seen her drink from it.

The next time she picked it up the bottle he watched it carefully. He saw how she was doing it. Her tongue was pressed up against the bottle's opening to prevent any of the beer from going into her mouth. He wondered why she even bothered with the bottle, wondered why she didn't just get a pop or something.

It hit him. She was trying to turn over a new leaf. The bartender told them about the fights she had gotten into. Violence would make her like her father and she was trying to avoid that. Alcohol would make her like her mother, and he knew she didn't want that either. But having a pop in a sports bar would prompt questions she would not want to answer. He leaned into the table and grabbed his own bottle and finished it off. He set it back down in front of Max and grabbed a hold of her bottle without anyone noticing except for her. He took a drink and her eyes cut to him quickly.

*****

What was he doing? Had he noticed that my beer remained full even though I had been 'drinking' from it for the last half hour? Suddenly it hit me and I couldn't help but smile at him. He was helping cover for me. Someone would realize if my beer was still full at the end of the night. With an empty bottle in front of me it didn't seem as if I were avoiding something. It would draw less attention. It was stuff like this that I had missed about the two of us. He could read me better than anyone, maybe even better than Bells could. I loved him. I wasn't _in_ love with him. It wasn't romantic or anything, but I did love him.

It wasn't too late when we left the bar, around ten. Charlie, the barman, had tried in vain to keep us around longer, but Bells had an early class tomorrow and the guys had been working all day so they were tired. I wanted to go home with Danny, but I couldn't tell if he wanted me to come. Not that I could, because it was sister night. Although the official rules of sister night dictated that one sister only need go home with the other sister and both must stay home until one falls asleep. The other sister is then free to leave. We changed that rule when I was training every morning around five and Bells had a boyfriend. So I was sleeping at nine every night and she would go out to his place.

No, I wasn't going to employ that rule tonight. I wanted to be with my sister. We could talk a little later and then go to sleep. I would see Danny tomorrow night if we both decided that was for the best.

That night she asked me what was going on with Danny. I told her nothing, which sucked because I hate lying to her. But if I told her I had slept with him, the whole situation would get messy. First off, she would want to know how it was. She knew about my little sensitivity problem and would want to know if Danny had managed to get me off. And I didn't want to have to say no. Secondly, she believed that sex should be about love and respect. I didn't disagree with her, I just didn't have a lot of time to develop relationships like that so I hadn't exactly employed that moral standard. I was being better lately though. In fact, if I thought back on it, I hadn't slept with anyone in about a year. I guess time just gets away from me because I was so much more concerned about the Cup. But Bells would automatically assume I was using Danny, which I couldn't tell if I was or not. If I was, I hadn't gotten a lot out of the deal other than blowing his mind, which actually had been kind of fun for me.

I don't know what I think about the whole thing right now.

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**Please leave a review if you have time. I promise to give a special shout out to anyone who does!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Sorry this is kind of a short chapter.**

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I went to Danny's the next night and we innocently watched a movie. But as the night progressed we found ourselves in quite a similar situation to the previous evening. Only tonight was different. Let's just say it was quite a bit more satisfying for me. He was so gentle and caring, I suddenly felt that I could trust him to not hurt me. A shiver ran through my spine at the realization. I was trusting him, felt safe with him. Not that I had ever been worried about him breaking my heart or anything like that, it wasn't that type of relationship. But my body was vital to what I do, to what makes me happy. I needed to only entrust it to the right people and he was becoming a right person. He definitely wasn't a toy anymore.

I showered and grabbed a large fluffy towel from his bathroom, dried myself off, and wrapped the towel around my short hair before venturing back into the bedroom. I headed straight to his dresser to grab a set of pjs to wear when I felt Danny's eyes on me.

"What?" I asked, I was suddenly aware that I was naked, although it hadn't seemed to matter a second ago.

"I'm just marveling at how perfect your body is," he said seriously.

"My body is rock hard and a bit scary," I answered, slipping on the clothes I had taken. "So I don't know what you're talking about." I wasn't really comfortable sleeping next to him while naked yet, that seemed like much more of a relationship thing to do.

He looked at me incredulously. "You are the most powerful and intense person I have ever been with, and between you and me, that's a fair number. I have never felt as one with someone as I did with you because your body seemed capable of taking me in and surrounding me more fully than anyone else."

I raised an eyebrow at him, so he continued. "Your confidence is sexy as hell and your ability to get me to do whatever is needed is amazing. Plus you know exactly how to make it perfect for me. I have never had an orgasm like either of the ones I had in bed with you."

I sighed, "Well as long as we're giving compliments. I haven't had an orgasm at all in over two years and I haven't had one like that ever. I'm sorry you had to work so hard, though. My body just isn't like other peoples."

Danny's face lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Two years?" he asked. "Really?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "You don't have to act so happy about it." This came out as a sneer. I can be a real bitch sometimes. "Just don't get too confident, ok? It'll ruin you."

His grin softened a bit. "Sorry."

"Sure," and I sat down on the side of the bed and tried to feel angry. Couldn't do it though, I felt too good, too comfortable. I pulled the towel from my hair and ran my fingers through the choppy locks a couple times before laying my head on one of his pillows. I should go sleep on the sofa, but I just didn't really want to. And I honestly didn't think Danny would care, his bed is so freaking big.

*******

Danny slipped on a pair of boxers himself and laid down next to Max.

"You're my best friend, well, along with the guys. You know that right?" his question came out of the darkness and Max turned onto her back and faced the ceiling. Danny needed her to answer. His heart ached at the look on her face when he had gotten a little too pleased with himself. He knew why she had trouble, even if she hadn't figured it out yet. She didn't trust people, which made her focus too much on the person and less on the pleasure. Her letting go with him meant she trusted him and felt comfortable enough to let loose. That was why he had been so happy, not because he had gotten her off. Although did make him feel pretty good too. But he was now afraid she would close herself off again.

"Yeah," came the response from the other side of the bed. "You're my best friend too, except for Bells, of course."

"That's not going to change, is it?" he was afraid of this question too. Would she withdraw from him now that he had seen what she had probably construed as a moment of weakness?

"No," she answered again. "That can never change."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," she turned to face him now. "You're all I've got apart from Isabella. I need you and your mum and sister. You're our family."

The anguish on her face was a bit more apparent now that she was turned completely toward him. That answer stunned him. She hadn't done anything to really keep in contact with him any more than he had with her. What had her past five years been like? What about those first two when she had been so violent? He wondered if it was ok to ask her.

"You can ask me anything you want right now. I can see your mind turning around questions," she could read him like a book. Could she read him as easily as she seemed to read everyone else?

"What was it like when you left Bolton?" he asked first.

"Terrifying, I was so worried about Bells being left with my mother. And I was lonely, you guys were all I ever had. I didn't know how to make friends. Bells was kind of built in and you and I, and even Vicky, had been friends so long it was like were siblings anyway. I was always so driven and focused with my goal of getting out that I didn't know what to do once I'd achieved it. I took all my pent up energy out on the field, which ended up leading to a stream of messy suspensions and disciplinary hearings. But there was no one there to set me straight, so I kept right on going. I had a path of destructive behaviour following me and didn't know how to stop it. That was when I had my nose broken again. It was a wake up call, and I've been trying to get my act together for a long time. I still don't think I'm there yet."

"Your coaches and teammates and even Bells seem to think you have,' he tried to comfort her, but couldn't get past her hard voice.

"They don't know me as well as I know myself," the answer was hard, nothing he could say to her would change her mind, so he knew not to bother trying.

"What happened when you broke your nose the second time?"

"I put the guy in the hospital for two weeks with fractured ribs and internal bleeding," her voice was dead now. "I would have gone to prison if he pressed charges but he never told the police it was me because he didn't want to face an assault charge for my nose either. He would be punished more harshly than me because he started it and I could claim self-defense. So it never came up. But it scared me. I was so dangerous. I'm still so dangerous."

He was stunned into silence and had no doubt that he was the only other person in the world to know that story. She didn't scare him, she never had, but he had known that fearing her was probably valid.

"How do you feel now?"

"Now as in the general present, or now as in laying in bed next to you?"

"Both."

"In the general present, I'm even more afraid I will make mistakes than I was before because the whole country will have to bear the burden of my actions. I'm afraid that something will come back to haunt me and will end up effecting Bells or your family. I'm afraid I will loose my spot on the team and it will push me over the edge. I'm afraid something bad will happen to Bells and I wont be able to stop myself from taking matters into my own hands. Basically, I'm really freaking scared, but mostly of myself and of what I've done in the past."

"And right now in bed next to me?"

She finally broke a smile, "You would be more concerned about that wouldn't you?"

"No, no," Danny replied, "I'm just trying to get an overall view of your emotional state and I feel the immediate present is important."

"Right, act like a shrink to make it sound ok," she laughed again. "I feel comfortable. Like there is finally someone here who wants to take care of me and I can relax enough that I don't have my sensors up 24/7 anymore. I found myself enjoying the closeness we seemed to share. I trusted you and felt safe with you. I usually feel like no one else understands my past, even Bells. Which I why I loved you for taking my beer last night without anyone else noticing because I knew you understood what I was doing and I didn't have to explain myself. And tonight was the first night where I didn't feel like I was going to hurt someone."

That was a lot of information to take in at once. Her total honestly was more frightening than any of her actual revelations. She had finally chosen to drop everything at someone's door to see how they would handle it. But he didn't think she was testing him on purpose, but he knew that was what it really was. Could he handle it all? He didn't know but he would sure try.

"How do you feel right now?" she asked him. He hadn't actually expected her to ask him anything but found the answer flowed as easily as hers had.

"I feel a bit overwhelmed with all that information." She laughed quietly. "I'm overly calm and relaxed for someone with as much energy and emotion as I usually have. My heart ached when you snapped at me earlier for looking too excited when the reason I was really happy was because I knew you had finally chosen to trust me enough to let me pleasure you instead of worrying about my ulterior motives. The fact that it had been so long makes me worry that you don't properly enjoy yourself other than when you're on the pitch. I feel so consumed by you when we're together I can barely breathe. I'm kind of freaked out by how much you know about men in every aspect of our being; whether it be in bed or the way you were reading them at the bar. And I feel like you should scare me, but you don't."

"Remember back when we watched Robin Hood?" she suddenly asked.

"Yeah," he didn't know where this was going yet.

"You still don't expect me to fall in love with you, right?"

Was she really concerned about that right now? "Are you saying it would be that hard for you to love me?" He wasn't sure if his feelings were hurt or if he was relieved he wouldn't have to worry about her becoming clingy.

"I already love you," she stated simply. "But I don't want a romantic relationship with you."

He slowly let out the breath he had been holding. "So is this a friends with benefits type of situation?" He still wasn't sure how he felt about this.

"I don't think so. It's two people who have an intense emotional connection physically expressing their feelings for each other." She sounded so intellectual he found it hard to fully understand what she was talking about.

"So we have sex because we love each other, even though it's not romantic love. Plus we're really good at it," he added with a smile. "That sounds good to me. What happens if either of us becomes involved in another relationship? And do we tell anyone else about it?"

"Cheating is wrong, no other way to spell it out. So anything like this between us ends the moment either of us so much as considers dating someone else. And I don't see that telling anyone else would be very beneficial. I can not imagine anyone else understanding the type of relationship we have to begin with let alone seeing this as anything other than friends with benefits, which we have already established it is not."

"No falling in love, keep it to myself, and if dating anyone else, this stops. Seems fair to me," Danny was smiling over at her.

"Good," her own grin mirrored his.

"I think we should seal the deal," Danny edged toward her, now running a finger up and down the rungs of her rib cage under his t-shirt.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" her eyes were closed but a small smile still played across her face. Instead of answering he pulled her to him and attached his lips to hers. She laughed out loud and powerfully kissed him back.

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**So this is another chapter where I have written a more extended version of the Danny/Max exploits in bed but I thought this one made sense without the mature stuff. If you disagree or you just want to read that part, let me know and I'll think about posting it the same way I did the last part.**

**Mcsteph94** – Thanks for the review on Chapter 16, sorry I didn't give you a shout out on 17. I'm glad you can relate Max to someone because I was really worried people wouldn't understand her. And I'm so glad someone wants to know what happens so I posted the chapter _just for you_!!

**Ray** – Thanks so much. I'm so HAPPY to have another reviewer!!


	19. Chapter 19

**Kinda short, but I'm not done with the rest but I wanted to get out what I had.

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After that night, Danny and Max kept their 'physical' encounters to a minimum. Danny had a rough day working with the guys one day. They hadn't worked well together at all and Danny had felt like he had lost all control over their music. Not to Tom or something like that, but he just couldn't get a handle on what he wanted. He had called her, miserable after being unable to pull off anything great. She practically had to talk him into it, but when she kissed him tenderly he knew that being with her would make him feel better. She allowed him full control that night and he had taken her right against one of the walls of his living room. They only other night it happened, Max had a terrible training day and had been frustrated with the trouble she had. Danny realized that she had the same type of day he had earlier that month and gave her the same type of night she had given her. But instead of giving her full control, which she normally had anyway, he went slow and made sure to do everything in his power to take her mind off of what was bothering. He was quite sure it worked. Both nights had been unforgettable.

They minimized those types of nights together so they would always be special, but their relationship became way more intimate that it had been before. Not in a romantic way, but their depth ran deeper than almost anyone else they knew, although Gi and Tom could probably still give them a run for their money. Max wasn't emotional but she was slowly becoming more open with Danny. Normal relationships don't usually progress that way but it seemed to work for them.

******

It was Monday in the second week of December and Danny was meeting Bells at a small café near her school for a quick lunch before she had to go back to a class. Her exams were approaching quickly and she was busy so he was pleased she was making time to be with him. His mum had been pestering him for over a week now to invite Max and Bells to Bolton to celebrate Christmas all together, just like they had back when Bells was still living with her. But Danny had been avoiding the subject with both of them. He knew Isabella would probably jump at the chance to join in but Max would be hard to convince, if not impossible. He was worried she would take it as disobeying their deal of no romantic involvement and he knew she hated the thought of going back to Bolton. The only way he could think to break the invitation was through Bells, so he was asking her first.

The bell over the door of the small shop rang out as the door opened and a heavy gust of frigid air reached him. The thin blond came bouncing toward him and kissed him softly on the cheek with her freezing lips, causing him to shudder.

"We need to get something hot into you," Danny exclaimed, "before you turn into an icicle."

Bells giggled and took her seat with a flourish. She stripped off her classy white coat and hung it over the back of her chair. She was wearing a form-fitting, soft-looking powder blue sweater. Danny noticed a couple guys glance toward her then back down when they saw she was sitting with him. He couldn't really blame them. She was beautiful. Her big, innocent blue eyes jumped out when she wore that colour and he couldn't help but notice that her straw coloured curls were falling delicately around her face and across her shoulders. He loved her like a sister and was immediately glad he was there with her because he didn't like the idea of all the men in this place hitting on her. Must be his protective older brother thing kicking in. He never really had to bother with the guys Vicky dated. First, they were all older and second, she could defiantly take care of herself. Bells just gave off an innocent vibe that he knew some guys took advantage of. He had even taken advantage of girls like that when he was a lot younger, which he looked back on in shame a bit when he thought of how their older brothers must have felt. But he shook that off to get back to the problem at hand.

They made comfortable small talk over their lunches. Bells talked about school and Danny told her about the new projects the band was undertaking. As time began to slip away and Danny saw Bells look at her watch he decided it was time to ask before he lost his nerve.

"I have a question to ask you," Danny began tentatively, hoping this would go the way he planned.

"Sure," Bells answered happily after ordering a cup of tea from the waitress. "What's up?"

"Well," he began slowly, hoping he would phrase it properly. "My mum, and me and Vicky too of course, were hoping that you and Max might join us for Christmas at our house this year."

"Really!?" Bells face suddenly lit up in excitement.

"Sure," Danny said with an easy smile. "It's felt empty the past couple years. We don't even stay home anymore. We usually go on holiday, which really isn't the point of Christmas, so we've decided to move it back home and we really want you both to come. It'll be just like when you were still in school."

"Danny, that would be so amazing," Bells was gushing with a whimsical look on her face. "I've missed family Christmas so much since I moved to London."

"Don't you always spend Christmas with Max?" He asked confused at her choice of words.

"Well sure," she responded, rolling her eyes as though his question was silly. "But it's not the same. We just open each of our presents then hang out for the rest of the day. But even last year I was on call at the hospital so we didn't really make a big deal out of it. I can't wait to have a big breakfast and presents all around."

Danny wasn't quite sure what to say to Bells' reaction. He was sure Max would do her best to make Christmas great for her sister, but also knew that it must be hard for her to make it seem like a big holiday with so little to work with. "Well, we all want you there and I'm glad you want to come. I know you have to get back for class, so I'll let you go," he told her after grabbing the check. He helped her into her coat and put a protective arm around her shoulder as they exited. She kissed on the cheek and turned to walk away toward the school.

"Hey, Bells," he called to her, his voice almost drowned out in the wind. She turned. "Do you think you could check with Max? I haven't had a chance to ask her yet."

Isabella's face froze. She narrowed her eyes and looked over Danny's face, which he knew had a pleading expression on it. "Sure," she said finally, "I'll tell her." And she turned back into the wind and trudged off to class.

Danny hoped that Bells' innocent happiness would be enough to convince her older sister that this would be a good idea.

******

It was early evening when I made it back to our flat. I shook my keys in our lock when I got home, I really had to talk to our landlord about it because it had been sticking for a really long time now. The door finally swung open and I found Bells waiting for me right on the other side of the door.

"Guess what," she began before I could even ask.

"I don't know, Bells," I was exasperated. I had a long day doing promo stuff and just wanted to crash. "What?"

"Danny invited us home for Christmas!" She was so excited she even let out a tiny squeal. I was stunned into silence for a minute. Danny would never ask that of me, he knew better. But then, maybe that was why he had gone through Bells.

"No," I couldn't deal with this right now. I had a whole day full of flashbacks behind me because an eight-year-old girl had come up to me today after my presentation on domestic violence and told me that her dad hit her older brother. She said she had always thought it was ok because he was a boy and he was older than her and that was just how fathers and sons were but once she heard me speak she thought she should at least ask. After making sure he had never hit her (he hadn't) I started asking all the normal questions. How old was her brother? Did this happen often? What about their mum? She was really uncomfortable but was able to get through it because she really knew she was doing the right thing. I gave her my card and told her to keep it safe and she could email me if she needed anything or if anything else happened. The agencies wont let me give out a number because I'm not trained or something like that, but apparently email is fine. I did everything I was supposed to do in telling family services and the teachers so that it could be investigated, but I was always anxious for days after because I'm afraid the parent will find out the child said something and go after them. Plus I usually had Bells in the back of my mind remembering when she had told her teacher what out father would do to me and they told her not to exaggerate. I just wanted the kid's worries to fall on ears that would always listen, and I felt good about what I did, but that didn't mean I wasn't drained by the end of it.

Bells looked hurt. "Why not?" she demanded with a slight whine in her voice. It was such an annoying tone I just snapped.

"Because I don't want to go back there. It's not our home, this is," I snapped at her. "Just drop it."

She looked shocked and now she was angry. "Why do you even get to decide? We were both invited and I want to go. You always say I'm an adult and I can make up my own mind. And I want to go."

"Bells this is really not the time for you to try being assertive," I was still snapping. "We're not going. We'll have Christmas here, just like last year."

"Last year wasn't any fun," she was yelling now, which was out of character for her. Unlike me, she gone the calm head in the family and has great internal control. "All we did was sit around. I want to be with a family again."

"I did my best ok?" I yelled this time, and I'm loud. How did she think she could get away with saying that to me? I had done my best, it wasn't my fault I didn't have much to work with. "I'm sorry I'm not good enough for you, but I'm sick of being your mother all the time. If you want to go I can't stop you." I slammed the door shut in her face and walked right back down our stairs. Someone was going to have to pay for this. I never fought with my sister, EVER. And I knew who's fault it was to, so I decided he was the one I needed to seek out.

******

"DANNY," I pounded on his front door and yelled for him at the top of my voice. "DANNY, OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW OR I SWEAR I WILL BREAK IT DOWN!" I was a force to be reckoned with as my fists hammered away at his door.

It finally swung open and I barreled inside and began shouting in a way I've managed to keep under wraps for over two years now. "WHAT THE HELL IS THE MATTER WITH YOU? HOW DARE YOU GO BEHIND MY BACK TO ASK BELLS FOR CHRISTMAS? YOU KNEW I WOULD SAY NO SO YOU WENT AFTER HER INSTEAD!?" I was struggling to keep my fists at my sides. I wanted to hurt him so bad but knew I would regret it as soon as I did so I fought the urge. I finally took in his appearance. His hair was disheveled and he was wearing nothing but his boxers.

"Max calm down," he rolled his eyes at me.

"DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT. I'M FURIOUS WITH YOU RIGHT NOW. YOU KNEW SHE'D GET EXCITED AND BEG UNTIL SHE TALKED ME INTO IT. WELL, IT'S NOT GOING TO WORK, DAN."

"Why are you yelling at me?" he asked, his own voice now raising slowly. "My family wants you to come for Christmas," his voice was getting progressively louder. "To most people that would be a good thing, a great thing even. But not you, not the great Toma Maxwell. No, everyone's out to get you aren't they, trying to undermine you. Never mind the tight little bubble you keep your sister in." He was finally shouting. I heard spite in his voice, which was new. He never spoke to me like that.

"What are you talking about?" I was so angry my voice had lowered itself into dangerous territory. This was when people who new me well enough really backed off.

"You control everything about her. You wont let her do anything and using the excuse that you're protecting her. But you really just don't want her to get close to anyone because you're afraid that she'll leave you and you aren't capable of making lasting relationships with anyone else. You're afraid of being alone."

"I don't want her to get hurt," there was no question that there was venom dripping in my voice now. My knuckles had turned a frightening shade of white as I held my tight fists to my sides. "And she can make her own decisions."

"You sure about that?" Danny was provoking me now and I wondered why, but not enough to stem my anger to find out.

"Danny, is everything okay?" a cute young girl, who couldn't have been a day over eighteen, was standing in a pink undergarment set and peering around Danny's bedroom door.

"Sure, Babe," Danny gave her a little smile, "I'll be back in a second."

"Shit, Dan," all the emotion left my voice and I sounded dead. I spun on my heel and left not even bothering to slam his door behind me.

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**I hope you like it. Please review if you get a chance. I wanted to let everyone know that I'll be posting the mature part of the last chapter tonight or tomorrow, so make sure to look for it. Remember you can change the settings at the top or go to my profile and select it from there. Thanks for Reading.**

**Keels** – Thanks so much, I'm so excited to have more reviews. I think I will post that chapter so keep an eye out for it.

**Mcsteph94** – I love Gi too, she always seems so sweet so I really wanted to portray her that way. And I'm glad you think their so cute together. From ch.16B: I'm glad you liked it, but now I'm curious what you were expecting. I'd love to know if you get time.

**Alexis Gage** – 1. I'm glad you like it. And I know everyone is really busy so don't worry about it. I'm just really excited that you're reading now. 2. Don't worry about not catching on, that was the point, I purposely never put in the words 'she' or 'her' so no one would know until the second chapter. And family means everything to me and I wanted my character to feel the same way, particularly because Bells is so important to her.


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry to All my wonderful readers, particularly my reviewers, for this being so late. I wanted to make sure that Max responded correctly to what happened and the first couple times I wrote it, everything she did seemed out of character, so let me know how I did on that front. **

**Also I went to Taylor Swift's concert this weekend and the closest one was still far away and I had to make a weekend out of it and didn't have my computer with me so I couldn't update.**

**And Chapter 18B is now available in the mature chapters of the story.

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_I hate Mondays._ I had gone to the gym early that morning and was still carrying all my gear around with me as I hadn't managed to go home and when Bells confronted me it happened so fast I didn't even have time to drop my bag. I looped it over my shoulder and ran to the gym. My fists were still tightly clenched and by the time I hit the front door I was almost in an all out sprint. I swung the door open with too much force and it hit the wall. Some of the guys turned around but seeing it was me and the rage that was undoubtedly settling itself on my face went back to their workouts. None of them wanted to volunteer to be my punching bag until I had a chance to get the anger out on a bag. I changed into the non-sweaty set of clothes I happened to have with me. The bag was my first target. I swung with so much power my hand hurt. I hadn't bothered to put on gloves because the only way I was calming down was by feeling the pain in some other part of my body. My hands were a good place to start because I didn't need them for football. I waged a war with that bag for the next ten minutes before Paul came up behind me and wrapped a threatening arm around my neck.

"Put your gloves on or I will ban you from this gym forever," His voice was quiet enough that no one else heard him and dripping with sincerity that told me I better listen. I slipped my gloves over my now bleeding knuckles. Paul looked pissed but he couldn't complain as long as my gloves were on. There were no truly conscious thoughts running through my mind, just blackened rage. I hammered on the bag for another half an hour before I started to feel the flame of anger decreasing. I was breathing more heavily than usual which was a great feeling.

Paul joined me again but didn't bother saying anything. He grabbed my shoulder strongly and slowly pushed me down on a bench. His movements were calculated and meaningful so that he wouldn't come off as a threat but I would still know he meant business. I didn't want to talk anymore. I just wanted to box, so I let him do it. He pulled a first aid kit from somewhere and sat across from me, pulling my hands out of my gloves. He started off rinsing the blood with antiseptic, which hurt like hell but I didn't even flinch. I was beyond feeling anything right now, let alone reacting to it. When he was satisfied that my hands were really clean, he wrapped them in clean, tight bandages. My general motion was limited but he had arranged the wrappings so my hands were slightly bent, allowing me to keep fighting if I wanted. Which I did.

Paul grabbed one of the guys to jump in the ring with me. He got Jamie, who had fought with me before, which was important because the new guys were usually tentative about hitting me too hard and that just made me mad. The end result was usually involved them being flat on their back, humiliated, and I would be angry enough to go after someone else. As we started circling each other, I couldn't get Danny out of my head.

I couldn't be mad at Bells. She was right. She deserved a Christmas with a family again. The last couple years hadn't been great, even though I'd done my best. I loved her too much, and understood her too much to be properly angry with her. But he deserved every ounce of anger I could throw his way. He had been wrong in how he went about asking us and he had been wrong to say the things he did about me. Plus I couldn't even think about that girl without wanting to hurl.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep my cool, but Paul obviously thought I would be fine. He wouldn't have put anyone in with me if he thought I was still dangerous because he made that mistake once and, well, he's never quite been the same. But I swear, dislocating his elbow was a mistake and it completely healed.

I swung out first, clipping Jamie's shoulder but not doing any kind of damage. I felt in control, which was a good thing. The first thing that came into my more conscious mind was that I wasn't jealous. _Where had that come from?_ He swung back and nailed me in the stomach. Good thing I have so much muscle there, because that would have hurt otherwise. _I have nothing to be jealous of_. I could still only think of Danny betraying me by going to Bells first. I hit Jamie's shoulder again before dancing out of his next jab. I couldn't believe all that stuff he had said about me trying to control Bells. I crossed and managed to get Jamie's blocking arm out of the way long enough to graze his cheek with my other fist. That girl had been so young though. Danny always swore he would never take advantage. Plus we had an agreement. Anything that resembled a relationship and we stop sleeping together. Which means he should have told me. What if he had been lying the whole time? Had he been sleeping around behind my back? And did it really count as behind my back if we weren't even together to begin with? Bam, Bam, Bam. I hadn't been paying close enough attention and Jamie had pulled his famous triple; a cross, cut, jab that managed to make me loose my usually flawless balance and take a few steps back.

Jamie took advantage of the moment and crossed again. I was ready this time and blocked it perfectly. I swung once to get him out of my way as I re-aligned my feet so I could use my real strength, my footwork, to get me back in the game. We both punched at the same time, causing us both to miss but I was in position faster and handed him an upper cut to the jaw.

Then I realized something. I was a hypocrite. Here I was lecturing women about respecting themselves and being strong and independent before getting themselves into relationships when I had willing entered into a sexual relationship with a man I not only knew was a player, but basically gave him permission to sleep with other people because I didn't want any romantic entanglements. I had set myself up to be hurt. And I was setting myself up to be even more hurt in the future. I had asked for it. So I had no right to be upset with him. I could only be upset with myself. I paused a moment too long when the realization hit me, my hands dropping slightly and felt Jamie's fist connect with the side of my jaw. I felt my arms swing around to protect my body from the impact of the ground but remembered at the last moment to pull in my hands and land on my stomach so I wouldn't damage my wrists. My landing was rough and painful. I felt every bit of the impact on the front of my body, face included.

I made a decision at that moment. If I was going to be a good example to women, I had to follow my own rules. I had to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Danny was my friend, my best friend. And he would stay that way, because he was part of my family and I loved him for that. But no more sleeping together. No more bad decisions. I was going to take control of my own life once again. I was strong and independent and I was going to show it. And maybe I would try to stop being so protective of Bells. Maybe it was time to let her do things more on her own and to stop following her around. Maybe I needed to let her have her heart broken. And maybe I would even let her break mine a little bit if it meant she would lead a happier life because of it. I wasn't going to be the person who held my family back because I was afraid of being alone.

Paul blew a whistle not even allowing me the proper amount of time to get up. Not that it mattered, I wouldn't have made it up anyway. But the whistle was unusual because there were usually several fights going on at the same time and that would mess them up, but as I looked up I noticed everyone's eyes were directed to our ring. I pulled myself back up to prep for the next round.

My matches generally get watched more than others because I am one of the only women in the gym and the guys find it fun to see one of their own get their butt kicked. Not that I always win, in fact, I frequently don't, and I'm pretty sure they enjoy that just as much. Normally, I don't even notice the extra attention but there was a pair of eyes I had not been prepared to see. Danny's bright blue eyes were focused on me from the front row of our small bleacher stands. _Shit_.

*****

Danny sat down the moment Max left his house and placed his face in his hands. _Mondays suck_, he thought fiercely to himself. He hadn't really meant for that to happen. He had only brought this girl home in the first place to prove to himself that he could still do it. He wasn't falling in love with Max. He wasn't. He wasn't. He wasn't. And he was proving it by sleeping with someone else. That made sense, right?

He sighed heavily. It didn't make sense at all and he knew it. Had he only been trying to prove it to himself? Or was he trying to prove it to Max too? She was the one who set down the 'no falling in love' ground rule, and so far he was pretty sure he hadn't broken it. But maybe…

"Danny?" He heard the blond girl's voice coming from his bedroom. She stepped out again, still dressed in her matching pink knicker set and a coy look on her face. "Don't you want to come back to bed?" Her perfectly straight, white teeth bit down into her shiny pink, glossed lip in what he imagined what would normally be seductive.

"No," the answer was so obvious. "Sorry Babe," he looked up into her stunned face and sighed. "I've got to go. You can make yourself comfortable if you want, but I'm probably going to be gone a while." He hoped she caught on to his meaning, but most of the women who jumped at the chance to come back with him were not all that clever.

A sarcastic grin spread across her face. "You're kicking me out aren't you?" Maybe she was smarter than he had given her credit for.

"Yeah," he looked up apologetically.

"Fair enough," she suddenly laughed. "I guess if you go home with a rock star you should expect to get pushed out eventually. I just thought it would be after." She ducked back into his room and reappeared moments later fully dressed and picked up her purse from the sofa. He stood up as she moved to the door. Before her hand reached the doorknob she spun and placed her hand softly behind Danny's neck. She kissed him lightly on the lips but he didn't even respond to it, his mind already on what he was going to do about Max. She sighed and walked out not even bothering to leave a phone number. She was defiantly smarter than she had originally seemed as most girls left a drippy note with a number and hearts on it saying he could call them whenever, which he never did.

He paced before deciding the best course of action would be to find Max right away. While he put on clothes his mind ran through all the places he expected she might go in her infuriated state. Only two came to mind; a pitch or the gym. Since the gym was by far the closest it seemed reasonable to start there. He grabbed his keys and headed to the door.

Knowing she would have been on foot, he imagined he would actually overtake her on her way. But he must have left too late or he was wrong because he definitely didn't pass her. He parked on the street, dropped money in the meter, and walked through the doors to the front desk.

"Is Toma Maxwell here by any chance?" He asked the first person he came across.

The guy looked him up and down before stating in a low voice, "I hope you're not the one she's mad at, because if you are," the guy paused for dramatic effect, "she'll snap you in half." He walked off, chuckling softly to himself. Danny took that to mean that she was at least there and he would be able to find her. There were several rows of bleaches against the closest wall so Danny slowly made his way over there hoping he wouldn't disturb any of the big guys walking around because they honestly frightened him a bit.

When he took a seat a couple rows up and looked out at the gym he noticed most of the heads were turned in one direction so he followed all their eyes to that spot. A large guy had wrapped an arm around the neck of the person in front of him, from here Danny couldn't tell what they looked like because the guy's body was blocking it but he did see hands hanging at the other's sides. The knuckles were red with blood. The large guy suddenly released the person in front of him and Danny realized it was Max when she turned her head to shoot a nasty look in the direction of the guy. If he was being honest with himself, he thought he knew it must be her all along. He watched every movement she made as she pulled red boxing gloves over her bleeding hands under the supervision of the large guy who then nodded at her and walked away. Danny watched Max return to the bag and go at it with what appeared to be wide punches. She seemed to have little control and when she got really into it her face contorted in anger he had never seen on her face before. She was frightening and he wasn't the only one who seemed to notice. The others in the gym seemed to want to keep a safe distance from her as well.

Danny couldn't take his eyes off her and before he realized any amount of time had expired, she paused and stood motionless staring at the bag as though daring it to fight back. The large guy from earlier, he now assumed this was Paul, the trainer she had mentioned before, placed a guiding hand on her shoulder and directed her back to a bench where he slowly pulled off her gloves and took to working carefully on her mutilated hands. Danny could see even from here than Paul's touch was gentle and he was avoiding trying to cause her pain but the look on Max's face told him she couldn't feel a thing anyway. She looked blank, not tired, upset, or hurt, but just as though she was done. He felt his heart breaking at the thought of having been part of the cause for that. He wanted to go down to her and apologize but as he stood he realized she was doing the same thing.

Paul guided her to a ring as she pulled her gloves over her bandaged hands and stepped in the ring across from some guy that was definitely bigger than her by a sizable amount. Danny couldn't believe her trainer was letting her keep going after she had mutilated her hands that way. Didn't he know that must be dangerous? But then he once again realized who he was dealing with. Max was different. It was a fact and it would never change. They began a boxing match. Danny had watched boxing before and had even been to live matches before but he had never seen a practice run. He noticed the heads of others in the gym turning toward the fight. It seemed to hold a gravitational pull for every one there.

It hurt him to watch. Max was clearly in her element but seeing her get hit by this guy was painful for Danny to take in. He watched her take three hard punches in a row and wanted to protect her before realizing that was part of his problem when it came to dealing with her. Max could defend herself and hated the idea of someone else trying to impose themselves on her in that way. Knowing the way her body moved, he saw the tiny pause in her motion. He watched in horror as the big guy's fist collided with Max's jaw and she fell with a sound that echoed around the silence of the gym. Paul blew his whistle and Max slowly pulled herself up and returned to her corners for a brief break. Danny accidentally caught her eye and saw a newborn fury arise in her face. _This isn't good._ He only wanted to come and make things right, but in doing so, did something he now realized was a mistake. He had imposed on her territory. This was where she came to keep her emotions in check. No one was supposed to see her this way.

She didn't break eye contact with him as she took a large swig from a water bottle waiting for her in the corner and didn't bother to acknowledge any of the men who came up to talk to her. Paul said something to the both of them and she turned back around to face the other man once more. When Paul blew the whistle again she moved with new vigor, faster and more dangerously than before. She wasn't showing off for him, he could feel that. She was showing him what she could do, the pain she could inflict if she wanted. She was trying to scare him and he knew it was his job to show her he couldn't be intimidated. Her swings weren't wild like they had been before at the bag. They were carefully controlled and deadly in precision. The other guy didn't even stand a chance because he hadn't been expecting this type of energy from her all of the sudden. She abruptly pulled herself back and made a signal to Paul that had him end the match prematurely. The other guy seemed confused by this but was obviously willing to let it go so he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

Max sat herself down in her corner, not on a stool, but right on the ring floor and leaned her head back against the corner post. Paul stepped closer and made a small comment in her ear. She nodded slowly and pulled off her gloves. He looked at her hands for a moment and seeming satisfied that there was nothing more he could do about them, left her alone. The rest of the crowd disbanded quickly and returned to their own training schedules. It was now or never and Danny was willing to face the storm as his only other option was to go home and hope it blew over on its own.

Her eyes were closed and he walked over just loudly enough that she would know he had approached and wouldn't be startled. He placed one hand gently over her bandaged one. Her fingers twitched but she didn't move them away and he took that as a positive sign.

"Max?" He said tentatively.

No response.

He held onto her finger a little more tightly. "Max, I'm sorry for going around you to Bells." He paused again hoping for something to let him know he was at least listening.

"No you're not," came her flat tone in response. She didn't sound like she had just been in a serious boxing match. In fact, she wasn't breathing heavily at all, she had more stamina than he had ever realized.

"Of course I am," he whispered softly, hoping the soothing tone would change her mind.

"You wanted something and used your knowledge of me and my sister to manipulate the situation to get what you wanted," she was clearly still angry, but at least she seemed to be able to speak to him now, even though she still hadn't bother to open her eyes to look at him. "You're not sorry you went around me. You're sorry I figured it out."

"You're right," he said softly. He watched as her eyebrows raised, even with out actually looking she was conveying that she was wondering what his motives were for admitting that. "I was selfishly wanting you and your sister with me on the holidays." He let a bit of sarcasm seep slowly into his voice.

Her eyebrows now knitted together. He assumed she was frustrated with his rudeness, but he finally decided he know what he was thinking. "I think its shit that I felt so uneasy about asking you myself that I had to ask your sister first. I chickened out and left you for her to deal with. And I honestly thought that my asking wouldn't be good enough for you, but that maybe Isabella asking would be."

She stood up suddenly and pulled her hand away from Danny's. "I'm going to change," she announced before climbing gracefully from the ring and walking away from him.

He slowly returned to the entrance hoping she was at least intending on letting him know when she left. He noticed dark glances from the men around him but decided to politely ignore them.

Max reappeared with her bag in hand and in the clothes she had worn to his house earlier that evening. She didn't bother to glance his way when she opened the door and walked out but he assumed she knew he would follow and jogged out behind her. It was pitch black outside but that made sense considering how late it had been when he had gotten there. He expected her to take off on her own but instead she walked to his car and stood patiently beside the passenger door waiting for him to unlock the doors to let her in.

When they were both in the car he began the slow drive to his place, knowing Bells would still be in their shared flat and knowing he needed time alone with Max right now. She remained silent for the drive and his mind ran over possible starting lines that would not make her too upset, but he couldn't come up with any. He pulled into his driveway and got out of the car. He was walking to the door when he realized Max wasn't following him. He turned to see she was not only still sitting in the front seat, but had a questioning look on her face. He sighed and bowed his head in exasperation and waved her toward him to indicate the girl was gone and it was 'safe' for her to come in.

Max complied and violently threw her bag over her shoulder as she walked toward the door, still not talking. Once they were both inside and he had set a large ice water in front of her on the coffee table where she was set on the sofa and sat down across from her in a big armchair.

"Why do you want us to come for Christmas?" She asked slowly, hands around the cold glass and eyes cast downward. Her question was serious and his answer needed to be exactly right. And the right answer with her would be the truthful one.

"Because you're part of our family. Both of you are. My mum and Vicky want you there too. This is not about you and me. This is about _our_ family." He was speaking softly but forcefully so she would listen without questioning.

"I don't want to go back," she whispered.

"I know," he moved up onto the sofa next to her and slowly put an arm around her shoulder. "But I'm going to ask you to anyway. Will you come home with Vicky, Bells, and me for Christmas?" She didn't answer. "It will break Mum's heart if we show up without you."

A grin broke out on Max's face. "That was low," she announced, raising an eyebrow and turning in his direction.

"I know," he smiled back at her, knowing he had broken her iceman routine. "But that's how much I want you to be there."

"Okay," she whispered. He could tell she was trying to keep her voice steady. "As long as it's for Kathy and not you," she added with a hint of sarcasm.

"Because you wouldn't want to do me any favours," he spoke softly back, hoping she would stay calm.

"Nope, I really wouldn't, not after what you pulled today."

"That was terrible of me, I know."

"You owe me."

"I suppose I do," he spoke out carefully, wondering what she would want from him. His imagination ran away with him a little bit and he found himself turned on. Not good considering what she had stormed in on earlier. He was wondering if that would come up and wanted to avoid it so he asked another question she wouldn't want to answer. "Can I look at your hands?"

She stopped moving but didn't bother to say anything. He pulled away and watched her face harden.

"Will you please trust me?" He said in a quiet voice, practically pleading with her to open up a little bit. He wanted her to talk to him like she had after their second time in bed together. She pulled back from him completely, sitting back against the pillows and offered her hands to him palms up. He rolled his eyes at her and caught a slight grin that she was obviously trying to hide. He turned her hands over in his to slowly untie the bandages. Her knuckles weren't bleeding anymore the wounds were still open, although they didn't look as bad as they had before. "Why do you do it?"

She looked at him questioningly. "Why do I box? Or why do I hammer at the bag until my hands bleed?"

"The second one."

"They kind of go together actually. I box to get out anger without hurting other people, but sometimes in order to do that I have to hammer away a bit. Experiencing physical pain makes it easier to forget about everything else." Her final comment came out cold and he realized she was referencing the things she wanted to forget about had to do with him. He had caused her pain, the one thing he had been trying to avoid for most of his life. She had enough as a child to last a lifetime and he was here making it worse. Was there anything he could say that would make everything go back to normal? He hoped he would figure it out soon.

"I'm going to head home," Max stood suddenly and grabbed her bag. "I've got to talk to Bells."

Danny was shocked at her sudden desire to leave but understood her need to talk with her sister. Bells and Max never fought for very long and to his knowledge had never had a fight that was even remotely serious. Usually they involved Bells whining about something and max getting annoyed. He hoped they would be fine. He could tell that Max wasn't really upset with Bells anymore and hoped that Isabella felt the same about Max, he hoped she knew that she was just trying to protect her from the pain that Bolton held for her. It was an ultimate sacrifice for Max to go back there just to make her sister happy.

"I'll drive you," Danny had also hoped he could have a little more time with her. He didn't like that she was upset and really didn't like that he had caused it. He wanted to follow her around until he could find some way to prove to her he was sorry for what he had done and how he had done it. It was amazing to him that she didn't even really seem that angry anymore, just exhausted.

"No thanks," she smiled genuinely at him. "I think I'm going to walk. Fresh air and all that," and with a wink she walked out the front door into the snow.

******

The air was clearing my fuzzy head. The conversation with Danny had gone well although I couldn't believe he had been able to convince me that going to Bolton was a good idea. But he was right about Kathy. She would be devastated if she knew Bells was coming and I had refused. Danny hadn't lied when he said it would have broken her heart.

I wanted to talk to Bells about why I had reacted the way I did. I didn't expect her to understand but she still needed to know. I'd never given much voice to what had happened with my parents and, as I'd sheltered her from it as much as possible, she really had no clear picture of the pain and suffering that had taken place in that house. She also needed to know that, not only did I respect her decision to go to Bolton for Christmas, I would be joining her. And I hoped she wouldn't be to upset with me for yelling. I loved her and I was going to do everything I could to prove it to her.

As I pondered all of this over, I couldn't believe how light I felt. Not like my weight, but like my shoulders weren't pulling me down. I don't really know how to describe what I mean. It was as though I had been relieved of a huge burden. My first thought was my decision to let Bells go, but I knew that wasn't it. Isabella had never been a burden. I loved her and I had never once regretted taking care of her, either as a child or now. I know I wasn't feeling light about going to Bolton so that only left one thing.

I was happy about my decision to do with Danny. It was what made me know I had made the right call. I'll be the first to admit that being with him had been amazing. And I'll admit that we had become closer than ever. I'm even willing to say I love him and I might have been falling _IN_ love with him, which is why this was all for the best. We could go back to the way things had been, playing with Christopher and watching movies and just talking about life. We could be more carefree without the question of whether or not we would end up in bed together hanging over our heads.

I wasn't going to talk to him about this if I could avoid it, but I'm assuming he'll figure it out for himself.

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**I don't want to beg for reviews, so instead, I'm sending out super special thanks to those of you who did!! Gold stars for all of you!!**

**Keels** – I felt bad for her too. But everything seemed a bit too simple. Did her reaction seem realistic to you? And I posted the other chapter under mature, so check it out if you get a chance.

**McSteph94** – I know, but does Danny still seem like that much of a jerk, or just someone who isn't capable of making good decisions. Ch18b – I liked your insight into Max's character. I would have agreed with you but I thought it would be more fun this way. Haha.

**Alexis Gage** – Ok, This could take a while. 7. I totally agree. I had so much fun writing this part. The boys with Chris were so so so cute. 8. They are such friends here. I love that Danny wanted to come for both of them. 9. When I wrote it I could actually hear Paul O'Grady too. He's one of my favourite people ever, I look up interviews of his with people I don't even know just to watch him. Thinking of you laughing out loud at something I wrote makes me so happy. And my mom usually thinks I'm crazy so I definitely understand. Haha. 10. Laughed when I heard you were waiting to change until the end of the chapter, made my night. And I did write that part for the fake cosmo article. Thanks so much for everything you said about it. I really believe all that stuff and I felt like a character like max would feel the same way. 11. Totally makes sense. That was what I was going for, I wanted everyone to know how close they really were as kids and how great Danny's family treated her. 12. I thought it was fun the way he was all upset, but didn't put together that he was jealous, he thought it was a perfectly normal reaction. Going to respond to the rest after the next chapter!! Thanks for leaving so many!!


	21. Chapter 21

**Saw WHIP IT a couple nights ago and would fully suggest it to anyone who loves a good offbeat movie.

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Bridget and Christopher were going to her parent's house for the Christmas holidays. Since Bells, the guys, and I didn't want to miss out on giving him Christmas presents, we decided to hold a small get together for the group of us. Bridget had set up a Christmas tree in their living room and Chris had clearly done the majority of the decorating. Tinsel had been splayed all over the bottom branches in the spirit of the holiday. I had gone over early to help make dinner because Bridget still hated to cook and I wanted to spend time with both of them before everyone else joined them as I hadn't had a lot of time with them in weeks.

Christopher jumped into my arms the moment I made my way through their door. He had been extra affectionate since his little tantrum in the snow. It was as though he was still worried about anyone leaving him and wanted to be close to them all the time, which was fine with me because I knew he'd outgrow it faster than I would like. I carried him along with my small bag of gifts to the kitchen where Bridget was pretending to prep our meal. She must have heard us giggling in the doorway and turned around to face us, a smile and a raised eyebrow present on her face.

"Leave me alone," she said with a laugh, "I'm doing my best."

"We know," I told her, wrapping my free arm around her shoulders. She returned it and Chris got caught in a Max/Bridget sandwich, which made him giggle even more. We all set about making dinner for the group, who would be showing up in a couple hours. Our time together was wonderful and included a bit of a food fight over the turkey dressing (stuffing to some people). I had set the turkey early that morning and gone home to get everything else before coming back that afternoon so everything was ready. I had the vegetables steaming and potatoes cooking too. I was going to make today fun for everyone. I needed to decompress before heading to Bolton, Chris needed to know that Christmas can be great even without his dad, Bells loved being around kids, Chris especially, Bridget needed to know she had a solid support system, and the boys, well they just wanted to have fun, and I think that's important too. Harry and Tom had already headed to their parent's homes for the holidays so only Danny and Dougie were able to join us. Chris had wrapped up the other boys presents to give to them later, he had even made something for Giovanna, and since he didn't know he very well, that shows how much he got into the whole giving gifts thing.

"I have to talk to you about something," I said to Bridget suddenly when Christopher had run to the other room to ensure all his presents were under the tree.

"I actually have to talk to you too," she answered seriously, "but you go first."

I took a deep breath, wondering how she would take the news I had just gotten myself. "I was offered a position on a professional team," I began slowly, "with the season starting next March."

Bridget gave me a curious look. "Me too," she said slowly.

My interest was peaked. "Where?"

"No, you first," she had begun to grin, realizing the possibility that we may have been extended a similar offer.

"The states," I concluded, expelling the breath I had been holding.

He jaw dropped. "Me too."

"Which team?" I asked suddenly excited about this new development.

"Carson, California for the Las Angeles Sol."

It was my turn for a jaw drop. "Me too." Our responses weren't overly excited so much as in shock. How did this even happen and why didn't the recruiter tell us that we had both been offered places?

"They told me that since this is the first year getting the league back on its feet, they needed women who had been there before to show the American girls what it can really be like," Bridget shared with me. "They said they want someone who can help coach the team from on the field and felt like I would fit what they were looking for."

"Bridget, that's amazing," I hugged her tightly. She needed to hear stuff like that more often. "You would be perfect for that. I mean, you've got more professional experience than probably that whole team put together."

She laughed and raised an eyebrow. "You're making me sound old."

"You know I don't mean that," I rolled my eyes in her direction.

"Yeah, yeah," she laughed again. It was great to see her in such a good mood. "I got the impression they were choosing players for very specific reasons, with in place in mind for each of them. Did they say anything in particular to you?"

"Yeah, they want to make the sport popular with the American public. Apparently, crazy players like me add entertainment value to the sport and they want me to come and be an example of Britain's football pride or something to that effect. My impression was that they wanted me to be a female version of what Beckham did for the LA Galaxy, only on a much smaller scale of course. They really want to get this up and running so it doesn't flop again so they want the games to be intense from the very beginning. My understanding is that I give off just such an intensity."

"So you do," Bridget smiled at me again. "So I take it you're thinking about it?"

"I don't really know. I don't want to leave, but it's such an awesome opportunity. We'd basically be starting up a women's league. We'd be like pioneers of the sport for America or something. But I can't just leave Bells here, she's never really had to fend for herself before and I don't really know if she could handle it. Plus, I've just reintroduced Danny into my life and leaving would feel like I was abandoning that relationship, you know?"

"I guess I can understand that," I thoughtful look had placed itself on Bridget's face. "But if this is really right for you, I'm sure they'll all support you. Besides, it's about time Bells lived on her own. She's needs to find out who she is one of these days, but if you're always there telling her who to be, she'll never figure it out." I felt my face cloud over. Bridget must have noticed because she immediately punched me in the shoulder to snap me out of it. "That's not how I meant it. She has always had you to lean on, but sometimes it's best for them to stumble and fall a bit. You'll always be there for her, even if it is from the other side of the globe."

"Are you going to do it?"

"I don't know," she leaned powerfully against the counter and crossed her arms. "Unlike you, I have a son to think about. I have to do what's right for him. I can't in good conscious just move him away from his father if I think there is any chance of Aaron ever coming to his senses enough to come and visit him. But other than that, there isn't much holding me here. My parents would understand and this would give me great experience if I ever decide to coach after my playing days are over."

"And I have to be honest with you," she continued after a small pause. "I was really worried about leaving you behind." She held up her hand to stop me before I could interject. "I know you can handle yourself and all but you need more people in your life showing you that they love you otherwise you loose it. I love you, but you know it's true. Up until five months ago, I would never have even considered it, but now that the guys are around, I know you'd be fine."

"The only other concern I have is that Chris will feel abandoned again," her eyes were downcast. "He wouldn't understand that I was moving him and he would really miss you, Bells, and guys being part of his life. So I plan to take that into consideration, too."

"We'll work it out," I turned and leaned against the counter next to her. "We'll make the right decisions."

"I know we will."

"Are you going to tell anyone?" I asked.

"No one but you and probably my parents over Christmas. How about you?"

"Wasn't planning on it, not until I make my decision anyway. Why worry them if I end up deciding against it?"

"I guess that's logical, but don't you think you should involve them in the decision?"

This was one of those areas where Bridget and I differed. She had parents she had always been able to ask for advice. I never had that and so had made most of my decisions growing up on my own. I didn't like bringing others in on my choices, it made me uneasy, and I didn't foresee that changing anytime soon. "Not this time. I have to make this decision for me, not anyone else. Besides, if I feel anyone trying to influence my decision that will just make me angry and I will end up choosing based on the wrong things so I think I'm going to have to pull this one off solo."

"We'll make the right decisions, right?" for a moment she sounded unsure.

"I really hope so."

The doorbell rang. "I think we're going to have to extend this discussion at a later date," she said, pushing herself away from the counter as we heard Chris bolting for the door and waiting patiently for us to come up behind him. He wasn't allowed to answer the door unless a grownup was around, you know, for safety and stuff.

"I think you're right," I whispered just as she opened the door and the smiling faces of our friends beamed back at us.

Dinner was done and we settled at the table as soon as everyone deposited their presents under the tree. Dinner was an enjoyable event. Chris took a place next to Dougie and they, of course, giggled over the entirety of the meal. Bells was right there with them, telling silly stories and making them laugh harder. Danny, Bridget, and I spent a great deal of time rolling our eyes at the three of them and somehow all managing to feel like parents in that moment. Bridget, of course to Chris, Danny to Dougie, apparently this is normal for all the guys in the band, Dougie being the youngest, and myself to Bells, also fairly normal since I've felt that way for most of my life, but all in a good way.

After finishing up our turkey and clearing the table, we all set ourselves around the tree. Chris had taken up residence in my lap for the giving of gifts and I couldn't have been more thrilled. He was still so taken with both Dougie and Danny that they usually commanded all his attention when they were around, but tonight he was snuggled up next to me in my place on the floor by the warm, crackling fire.

I had helped Chris with some of his gifts and knew how excited he was to give them out today. That is what is so great about kids at Christmas. They really love to get presents, but you can see their true joy when they get the chance to give gifts and see how happy they can make others. Chris was bouncing up and down in my lap in anticipation of giving his gifts. We were trying to make up some semblance of order so that no one person was getting all of their presents at one time so he was having to wait.

"Chris," Bridget called to him. "It's your turn." He jumped up excitedly.

"Who first?" he asked, bubbling over.

"Who ever you want," she answered him with a loving smile. Seeing your kid being so excited to give something away must be one of the greatest feelings of all time.

Chris ran to the tree and pulled out a gift big enough to have to put both arms around it in a hug before walking over to place it in Dougie's lap. Dougie looked just as excited as Chris was as the little boy hopped up beside him on the sofa, still bouncing in anticipation.

Dougie unwrapped it so fast I barely heard the paper rip. Sitting in his lap was the gift Chris had the most fun making. It kind of looked like a plant. At least, there was a pot that had been painted all different colours and something resembling flowers sticking out the top. But these somethings were not flowers, they were, in fact, candy bars that had been glued to sticks and decorated with fake petals. Chris had carefully chosen all of Dougie's favourites one day at the corner store when I was bringing him home and painstakingly glued all the pieces together. It actually looked really cool and Dougie's face lit up like the Christmas tree next to him.

"This is the most awesome thing I have ever gotten," Doug's eyes had glazed over and I actually found myself believing that he might be in love…with the basket of candy, just to be clear. He attacked Chris with a hug, held him tight, and swung him back and forth while the little boy giggled from his arms. "Seriously Dude," Dougie said when he finally set him down, "this is so sweet. Thanks man."

"You're welcome," Chris continued to giggle.

We continued going through presents and had a blast while doing it. Bridget didn't like the idea of shoving football down Chris's throat so avoided getting him too much football stuff. I don't feel those same constraints, so I got him an official football, a set of cleats just one size to big because that way they will fit come summer, and a jersey from Man U, signed by most of the team of course. I've decided that I'm going to get a collection started for him and if he decides when he older he doesn't like football, he can sell them online or something and fund his university tuition or art school or whatever he wants.

Bells got him a Classic Disney film, _Sword in the Stone_. Her reasoning was that Wart, who later becomes King Arthur, had greatness thrust upon him and handled it with bravery. She figured that any child of the great, courageous Bridget Collins would definitely have to deal with expected greatness and she wanted him to learn from the best. She has a weird sense of what makes a good role model, but I guess that can happen when your parents suck like ours did.

Chris gave me the picture of himself and guys with our snowman. He made a frame himself from Popsicle sticks and printed in block letters across the bottom, C-H-U-C-K, which I remembered was the name our man of snow had been given. He decorated it with white and silver puffballs to make it look like snow. I loved it and planned to hang it up first chance I got.

Danny surprised both Bridget and myself by pulling out gifts for us next. Neither of us had expected anything, particularly because I was spending actual Christmas Day with him. We both unwrapped them curiously and I found a simple, but really nice, black frame resting in my hands. Looking over at Bridget I saw she held the same. In the frame was a picture of the two of us, I'm not sure where, and we walking across a pitch, her arm around my back so her hand was resting on the shoulder furthest from her so it looked as though she were leading me somewhere. I was looking down and she was looking at me, both of us were smiling. It was an amazing shot, even though it was clearly the end of a game as both us had the slight gleam of sweat and my hair was held back by a sweatband and Bridget's was in a messy ponytail. Danny had it done in black and white, and, in the black frame, I thought it was really eye catching.

"Where did you get this?" I asked quietly. I didn't have many pictures of just the two of us and this really meant a lot to me.

"My mum took it at the charity match," he said, looking at me carefully trying to gage whether or not I really liked it. "I hope it's ok," he added quickly.

"I love it," Bridget announced, clearly she was touched that Danny had thought of her too, and got up to give him a hug.

"Me too," following Bridget's example. It really was an amazing shot, close enough that you could see Bridget's and my connection in the way we were standing. At least, I thought so, but I guess I can see that no matter what, so maybe I'm not the best judge.

Danny hadn't gotten a gift yet, so Chris pulled out what he had made for him. It was a picture in a frame similar to the one I had received, but the picture was different. It was a picture of that same snow day, but instead of being with the snowman, it was a picture I had taken of the two of them hording up snowballs to ambush the others. The looks of glee on their faces were identical to one another as they packed the snow into manageable sized circles. They had had so much fun that day and it was clearly written all over their cold, pink faces. Danny laughed out loud and hugged Chris in thanks, promising to hang it on the wall as soon as he got home.

Chris's gift to Bells was equally charming. He had made her a Christmas ornament for our tree. Two tiny silver bells tied together with Christmas ribbon. It was a simple gift, but one he had contemplated for quite some time. He decided that because her name was Bells and bells were a very Christmas sort of decoration it only made sense to do something along those lines. He must have had Bridget print on the tiny bells in paint "Isabella" on one, "Bells" on the other. She squeezed him up in her arms and immediately hung the tiny bells on the tree, promising she would remember to take them home but right now she wanted them to be where they belonged, on the branches of a tree.

Bells was able to surprise Bridget again. She handed her a scrapbook, mostly of pictures of Chris, hanging around with different members of the whole gang of us. I hadn't even seen most of these and hadn't even known Bells had been working on it. She had to spend some time assuring Bridget that it wasn't a big deal. It turned out that when she was stressed about exams she would decompress by scrapbooking and, as it turned out, the most common subject of her pictures was Christopher. We took turns flipping through it and found some pretty amazing shots. One of my very favourites was the one we took on fajita night back in August where Danny and Chris were sleeping on the sofa, Danny's arm wrapped tightly around Chris to keep him from falling from where he had perched on his chest. Not that I would ever tell Danny that.

"There seems to be one left back there," Danny jumped up to the tree eagerly. He pulled a large present out from behind some of the bottom branches. I couldn't figure out how he had hidden it there without any of us seeing him bring it in.

"Who's it for? Who's it for?" Chris asked, bouncing up and down.

"The tag says…" Danny made a big show of trying to read the name on the tag. "Whoever wrote this has terrible penmanship," he finally announced. "I think I need you to read it for me." He turned and placed the large gift in Chris's hands.

"I can't read very well yet," Chris began nervously.

"Give it a shot," Danny shot me a wink. That boy was so over the top sometimes.

"It says…" Chris paused, which I was assuming meant he had figured out it was his name on the tag. "It says my name," he was completely agast.

"Really?" Danny acted surprised.

"Yeah," Chris suddenly got a little glint in his eye. "Under the from part it says D-A-N-N-Y and D-O-U-G-I-E. What do those words spell?"

"You have to sound them out little dude," Dougie answered before his mother could. Although I'm sure she would have said the exact same thing. "Otherwise it's cheating." He said it with such sincerity Chris nodded and immediately went back to the tag and began sounding out each letter.

"Daaa…ummm….nnnnn….ummm….dann…"he began slowly. "Um," he turned his head to me as I was still sitting the closest. "What sound does a Y make?"

"At the end of the word, it makes an 'eee' sound," I told him patiently. He and I had been working on our letters and their sounds but we hadn't gotten to the end of the alphabet quite yet.

"Ok," he began again. "Dannneee….Danny!? Is that right?"

"So far so good little man," Danny answered back.

"So you were faking it when you said you didn't know who it was for," Chris said with a raised eyebrow. For someone so young, he has some really classic facial expressions.

"Yeah," Danny replied with a smile and a tousle of Chris's hair, "I just wanted to make you work for it. Don't forget you still have to figure out the second name."

Chris rolled his eyes in Danny's direction. "It says 'Dougie,'" he stated as though it were the most obvious fact in the world.

"How do you know if you can't even read yet?" Dougie asked incredulous.

"Because it starts with a 'D' too and even I know your guys' names start with the same letter," so basically he figured it out by process of elimination and by naturally associating Dougie with Danny. This kid is way too smart for his own good. "SO can I open it now? Please…" He extended the last word until both the guys laughed and Danny agreed it was fine.

Chris tore the paper even faster that Dougie had when he had received his candy plant. They had wrapped the gift so that none of us could tell what it was without it being opened so we were all curious what was in the large package. Chris quickly extracted an old guitar case covered in silly stickers. It was familiar to me. I had seen it in Danny's basement years before. It had been his first guitar case. I remember him telling me that he had broken his first guitar years ago but always kept the case because it was in amazing condition and it was special because it had been his very first one. His mum had given it to him when he told her it was time for him to take lessons at about the same age Chris was now. Chris set it on the floor in reverence as he slowly popped the clasps at the side of the brown leather. Inside was a gleaming acoustic guitar made for someone exactly Chris's size. I knew Danny was probably going to go overboard but I never would have expected this.

Chris didn't say a word. He sat on the floor speechless for what seemed like forever. Suddenly he bolted up and ran right in-between the two guys on the couch and hugged each of them with one arm and pulled them close.

"Thank you, Thank you, Thank you," his exclamations were so loud I felt he must have deafened both Danny and Dougie, being so close to their ears. He ran back to the guitar and slowly pulled it from the old case. He returned to the couch where the two of them had made space for him to sit between them. They went through the motions of showing him how to hold it and where to place his tiny fingers on the neck across the strings. Dougie pulled a plectrum from his pocket and handed it to the little one.

Bridget and I gathered up all the wrapping paper and were taking it out to the trash. "It's too much," she said in a soft voice.

"Not to them," I said back just as Danny bolted out the door. "Where are you going?" I called to him.

"To get my guitar," he called back over his shoulder. He shuffled around in his small back seat before coming out with his own guitar and running back to the house. "We're gonna to jam." He voice was all high pitched like it gets when he's overly excited and in a flash he was gone.

"See what I mean?" I turned to her and grinned at her stunned face. "That little boy makes them happier than almost anything else. They are millionaire musicians. Giving a guitar to one of their favourite people just kinda makes sense for them. I'll show you."

She followed me back into the living room where Danny was now perched on the side of the couch and Dougie was sitting by Chris making sure his fingers stayed on the right cord while he slowly played the same note over and over. Danny played around that note and they actually sounded good. Danny sang softly along with the tune, "Let it Snow." His voice was great when we were kids, and now it was beautiful. I actually felt my heartstrings pulling when he was singing while Chris played that one note along side him. I shook myself out of it and turned to Bridget. She was still in the doorway, leaning softly against it, one hand against her heart. I took one step back and wrapped my arm around her waist. "See what I mean?"

"Yeah," she whispered, barely audible. She was touched, I could tell. Never underestimate how a happy a child's happiness will makes their parents. I guess that's what happens when you have kids and you realize what a positive effect they have on others. Particularly when your husband ends up not caring as much as he should. Danny and Dougie really cared, and it really showed.

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**Thanks again to all my readers and reviewers. Have definitely kept me going. The next couple chapters should come more quickly. Then on to the ending, which I'm moving about in my mind attempting to decide what would be best for a fantastic conclusion.**

**McSteph94 **– I feel that way too. Sometimes people make mistakes. I had a great time at the concert and I'm so excited she's doing like 30 more shows than she planned and some are actually closer to me, so I can go again. WooHoo!

**Alexis Gage** – So where was I? 13. I loved that your reviews got shorter because you had to keep going. Hehe. 14. I'm envisioning you "Awwing" out loud and it makes me smile. 15. I'm dorkily excited that something I wrote is interesting enough to you that you are not going to bed so that you can keep reading. 16. Same thing applies here, haha. 19. I know it seems like a shock, but I'm hoping when you read the next chapter it made more sense. I can't believe you actually spent 5 hours on my story. I'm actually in amazement. That is so so so AWESOME! 20. I feel like "Danny" and "ridiculously stupid" kind of go together, almost every story I've read about him involves both of those things. I'm glad you feel like I captured her character right. It took me so long to write it because I kept having her do things that didn't really make sense for her, it was so frustrating. Thanks again for all your reviews.


	22. Chapter 22

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No messages other than I love my readers so right on to the story.

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Snow was falling all around the car as we pulled into the driveway of Danny's mum's home on Sunday night. I've been trying to avoid Bolton ever since Bells left. With the exception of this particular house, I have no good memories of this city at all and I don't like being here. Danny drove, and being the tallest, I got to sit in the front. Bells and Vicky jumped out of the car and ran to the front door to see Kathy. I went to open my door but Danny stopped me with a hand on my wrist. I managed to not haul off and hit him, but it was hard. We hadn't talked about that night when he had asked me to come yet and I wasn't ever planning on bringing it up. I was pretty sure he had figured out that the physical part of our relationship was over and he seemed to be accepting it with grace, for which I was grateful. I turned to look at him, trying to keep the anguish out of my eyes. Even though I wanted to be with the people I now consider my family for Christmas, it didn't make it any easier to have to drive these streets and see the town I hated. But tomorrow was Christmas Eve so I'd only have to deal for a couple days, it could be worse.

"Thanks for coming," he practically whispered. His hand moved from my wrist and laced through my fingers. I looked down at our hands intertwined as they were and found any anger I held evaporate. He knew how hard this was for me.

"I want to be with everyone," I said slowly. "If coming here is what it takes, I'm fine with that." He squeezed my hand quickly and moved to open his own door. I copied his movement and we both walked around the back of the car to the boot to pull out our luggage along with that of our sisters. Each of us carried two suitcases up to the door. Danny walked in first and we both heard the happy voices of our sisters and Danny's mum. She appeared in the opening to the living room and swept out to hug us both once we set the bags down in the hall. She wrapped an arm around each of us and directed us into the room where Vicky and Bells were already seated.

We all sat and drank the hot cocoa Kathy had made sure was ready for when we got here. It was still early evening and the plan as far as I was concerned included setting up and decorating the Christmas tree. Mum had most of the house decorations up but wanted to wait for us to do the tree. Plus I'm pretty sure she was looking forward to having Danny and I to do the heavier lifting. We talked about what had been going on the past couple months. In mine and Danny's cases we talked about the traveling we had done and Vicky talked about work and the kids she was teaching. Bells didn't contribute a lot because, as much as we all care about her being in school and her doing well, talking about her pre-med classes could be really boring. When we all finished up our cocoa, Mum directed all of us to the basement. Danny grabbed the box of fake branches and I got the base and trunk. Bells, Vicky, and Kathy each grabbed a box of ornaments and we hauled everything upstairs.

"Danny set the branches to the side so Max can get the stand in place first," Kathy instructed as we all filed into the room laden with boxes. We all managed to maneuver around each other enough to get the tree's stand and trunk in place. Our first argument of the evening was about the branches.

"Danny, don't put the top ones on first, it will make it impossible to get the lower ones in place," I said, exasperated.

"Fine," he shot me an annoyed look and pulled off the branches he had already placed.

"Don't get mad," Vicky sighed at his antics. "She's just trying to be helpful." Danny rolled his eyes and she responded by swatting the top on his head.

"You're using the wrong branches," he growled at me from where he was now sitting back against the sofa.

"No," I said back, "The biggest ones go at the bottom."

"Right, but those aren't the biggest ones. There are more over on the other side of the tree."

Darn, he was right. "Well why don't you try to be helpful instead of just criticizing?"

"Last time I was helping you told me I did it wrong," he was still glaring but I could tell he was enjoying being right.

"It's just like you never left," Kathy was sipping tea from an overstuffed armchair and taking in the scene in front of her with a smile. I couldn't help but grin because she was absolutely right. Danny and I were always arguing about who was right or wrong and about who was better or worst at any given activity. This wasn't really all that different. Danny smiled too and began helping with the branches once again, but not before he playfully rolled his eyes at his mother.

The tree finally set up correctly, it was time to add ornaments. Bells and Vicky both really got into this and managed to become completely entangled in the twinkly lights. When finally finding both ends, Vicky took it upon herself to replace all the tiny bulbs that were burnt out, taking out half the strand every time she made a change. Ten minutes in she was obviously frustrated but carried on to complete the whole strand.

Danny and Bells were giggling over the tinsel they were adding to the tree. Bells wanted it to be perfectly placed and Danny wanted to throw it all over the place. I had taken a place beside Kathy on the sofa and cuddled up next to her. It's out of character for me, but she's the only person in the world who has ever managed to make me feel like I'm a kid. I was always busy being the adult and taking care of Bells when I was young that I didn't get to be a kid except when I was cuddled up with Kathy and she was reading me a story before bed or when she was brushing out my hair, both of which usually only happen occasionally when she was worried about sending us home because she feared we wouldn't be safe. I loved her.

Kathy wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me a little closer. It was a hug of sorts that made me once again feel exceptionally loved and safe. Danny and Bells went into the kitchen to pop a bag of popcorn.

"You girls being around makes me feel like our family is whole again," she said softly into my ear. "Vicky and Danny are both more happy and having more fun with both of you here. Thanks for coming back."

"Thank you for inviting us. You are my family," I said, tilting my head up to her face. "I want to be here and I think Bells needs to be here. I couldn't have Christmas with just the two of us again, we did our best but it just wasn't the same. We love you."

"You don't have to be a mother, sweetheart," she said. I looked up at her confused. "I've been trying to tell you this from when you were a kid, but you couldn't have understood then because I honestly don't think you realized that other kids your age didn't have to take care of their siblings like you did. You're only 22, honey. You should get to be a kid a while longer if you want to be. Isabella knows how to take care of herself now. I know she still looks to you to make decisions because you are her older sister and you've always looked after her. I guess I just want you to know that we are always a safe decision to make. We will always want you here and we'll always love you."

She is the greatest woman I know, hands down. I gave her a full hug and whispered my thanks in her ear. It seems weird, but I absolutely loved hearing that. I've always known she loved us, I wouldn't have agreed to come here for the holidays otherwise. But knowing her as I do, I know she just told me she loves us as daughters, which is more than anyone else has ever loved me, except Bells.

Danny and Bells had returned and, in typical Danny fashion, he decided that it would be more fun to play with the popcorn than eat it so a huge handful suddenly hit me in the face. I grinned and turned to him as Kathy sighed. I lunged at him. He saw it coming so passed the popcorn bowl to Bells before I could knock it over. He caught me around the waist before I was able to get really good leverage, but I still managed to knock him off balance from where he was seated on the floor. After a quick wrestling match during which the other three women laughed at us, Danny managed to pin me, something that hadn't happened much when we were younger.

"Ha Ha," he gloated with his hands holding my shoulders down and straddling me so I couldn't move my lower half either.

"Fine, Fine, I cave," I smiled up at him. I felt like it was kind of one of those moments where he might have kissed me just for fun, but he would never do that around anyone else, which was definitely a good thing. Plus, we aren't doing that anymore. I can't let myself forget that. He rolled off and lay down next to me. Bells suddenly let out a squeal and began pulling a bunch of ornaments out of the box she was going through. We all looked up at her and realized she had found the stock of homemade ornaments from when Vicky and Danny were younger and I think there might have been a few from Bells as well. Probably not from me as creative decoration making was never something I did very well and thus avoided at all costs.

Kathy joined us on the floor as we sorted through all the ornaments and laughed at the memories they brought up. It times like this when I remember how abnormal my childhood was because I don't have any boxes of ornaments packed away to break out for a Christmas tree but Kathy gave those kinds of memories to Bells and I'm eternally grateful for that because she is the kind of person who needs that kind of thing. Even though none of the ornaments were mine, I never felt left out.

When all the lights and ornaments were hung from the tree, we all shared another cup of cocoa while standing back and admiring our handiwork. It was around ten and we were all ready to crash because of the long drive. Vicky and Kathy were both in their rooms and Bells and I were to share Danny's childhood room, which, incidentally, is also Bells' room from when she lived here. The décor was really interesting because it held the personalities of both of them and they definitely clashed. Danny's posters of bands were still hanging and luckily his mum had never let him hang posters of naked ladies but his bedspread and curtains had changed to Bells' choices of bright colours and she had added a vanity on top of his dresser that hadn't ever been removed. Danny had 'offered' to sleep on the couch, which basically meant his mother told him he was sleeping on the couch and he didn't argue.

Bells was out the moment her head hit the pillow but I was restless for some reason. Instead of tossing and turning in bed I decided to get up and sit in front of the tree. Danny would be out on the sofa but I would be quiet and wouldn't bother him. I crept down the hall avoiding all the squeaky floorboards, I'd forgotten where some of them were but I managed to be quiet enough not to wake anyone. I made a cup of tea and sat in front of the tree, leaning against the wall. I could hear Danny breathing softly behind me on the sofa and was glad he wasn't snoring tonight, he had a tendency to do that. I felt far more calm sitting here than I assumed I would be feeling in Bolton but I still didn't feel right.

An ornament on the tree caught my attention and I set my tea down to reach out and unhook it. A tiny handprint was imprinted in clay. There was a hole punched in the top with a ribbon threaded through so it could hang from the tree. The handprint was painted green and the trim was red. Messy letters were printed across the bottom, D-A-N-N-Y. It was so small, almost a quarter the size of my own hand when I held it up. He must have been about Christopher's age at the time, maybe even younger. I had trouble imagining Danny that small. I'd met him when he was eight and, while I'd seen pictures of him when he was really little, I didn't really think of him as ever being a little kid.

I glanced over at the sofa and watched him breathing slowly in and out. I had never realized how much I missed him while we were apart those five years but now I couldn't imagine my life without him in it and I'm obviously not just talking about the sex either. I can without it as long as I get to keep him around.

Looking back down at the handprint I realized why I still wasn't feeling right about being here. I knew what I had to do, but it could at least wait until tomorrow.

I replaced the ornament and finished my tea. After washing out my cup and replacing it on the shelf, I snuck back into bed next to Bells. She was a thankfully sound and fairly motionless sleeper so I didn't wake her and I still had a good deal of space. I set my watch for early the next morning, hopefully before any of the other awoke and closed my eyes.

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Danny awoke the next morning, Monday, to the sound of his mother putting on a pot of coffee. This was the disadvantage of sleeping on the sofa. He had also heard Max come into the living room and sit in front of the tree, but he hadn't let her know he'd woken up. He could hear everything going on in the common rooms of the house which meant he would never get a good lie in while he was here. Instead of complaining about it he chose to get up and deal because he knew there was nothing he could do. He made an appearance in the kitchen and kissed him mum on the cheek as a good morning before shuffling off to the bathroom to change. As far as he knew the girls were still sleeping so he would have some alone time with his mum before they got up, something he always looked forward to when he was home.

"What's the plan for the day Mum?" Danny mumbled when he came back into the kitchen fully dressed, although not quite fully awake.

"Nothing much planned," she smiled up at him from where she was starting pancakes for him. "The other girls will probably have a lie in."

"Other girls?" he was confused.

"Max is already up and out," she picked up a pad of paper and tossed it across the table to him.

_Gone for a run. Don't know when I'll be back. – Max_ was all the paper said.

"How long has she been gone?" Danny asked. If Max had left a note, she must have left before his mum was even up.

"Well, I got up about an hour ago and she was gone then. I found the note on the table," she answered while pouring him a cup of coffee. "How long does she usually go out for?"

"Well, usually about an hour I think, but it's really cold so I can't imagine her lasting that long. So I'm guessing she'll be back any minute."

"Alright, well we'll kind of make breakfast a progressive meal today. I'll start pancakes for each person as they wake up," she lifted the first of his out of the pan and on to a plate and passed it to him. He dug in right after smothering it with syrup. They talked while he ate and she kept making him pancakes as long as he was eating more. When he was overly full, easy to do because he loved his mum's cooking so much, they continued to talk over their coffee. He listened as she told him all about what had been going on in town. She asked him all the right questions about his friends, whom she adored too. They talked a bit about his music, but more about his life and how he was managing living on his own. She always worried about her children when they moved out of her house and after he moved out of living with the guys she worried even more because she knew that Tom wasn't there looking after him 24/7 anymore.

"I can't believe Max isn't back yet," Danny said looking at the clock and realizing another 45 minutes had gone by. "She doesn't usually run this long unless something is really bothering her. And I honestly didn't imagine that she would run around Bolton at all. I figured she would avoid everything except this house."

"She wasn't looking forward to being back here, was she?" Kathy asked with a pained look on her face.

"I believe her exact words were that she wanted to be with us even if it did mean she had to be here," Danny sighed. "So, yeah, you're right."

"So where do you think she is?" Kathy asked.

"I don't know," Danny dug back into his mind trying to remember if Max had said anything that would imply where she might have gone. He thought back to last night when she had come in to make tea and sit by the tree. He had kept his eyes closed in hopes that she wouldn't realize she had woken him up because she would have felt bad. He racked his brain and remembered she had pulled something from the tree and looked at it for a long time, but he couldn't remember what it was.

He walked over to the tree and sat where he remembered she had been to look at the tree, hoping he would see what it had been. There were baubles, bells, and lights hanging from the tree at this angle but the ornament that caught his eye was a homemade one. His tiny green handprint and his name in messy letters practically asked him to pull it off the tree. He was sure this was what she had seen last night and, when he held it in his own hand, he knew where she might have gone and also had no idea when she might be coming back.

"I think I figured it out Mum," he practically whispered. "But I don't know if I should go get her."

"Do you think she would want you wherever it is?" She asked slowly. She was trying to lead him toward the right answer without outright giving to him. It was a special talent of hers.

"I'm betting she thinks she wants to be alone."

"Do you think she's right?"

"I think she's handled her demons on her own for a really long time and it's time someone stood with her while she did it."

"So what do you think you should do?" She asked again, a smile now dancing across her face.

"I'm going to go see her," he answered, standing to grab the keys to his car. "Providing I'm right of course. If I'm wrong I'll be back in about ten minutes." He kissed her on the cheek as he left and she squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Bells and Vicky will probably be up when you get back," it sounded like a simple statement, but she was letting him know so he could prep Max when he found her.

"Thanks Mum, I'll keep that in mind."

He drove the short distance to Max's old house. The windows were dark and there didn't seem to be anyone home. He actually wasn't even sure anyone had lived there since their mum died over five years ago. But it wasn't the house that caught his attention, it was the tall woman standing on the sidewalk in front of the house perfectly still. He parked along the side of the road and climbed out, shutting his door quietly behind him. He knew she heard it but she didn't turn around.

The snow crunched under his feet as he came to stand behind her.

"You didn't have to come," she said in a flat tone.

"I know," he was going to try sounding soothing but figured she was more of a straight up person so he just spoke normally.

"I'm a big girl."

"I know."

"I could have handled it on my own."

"I know."

"So why are you here?"

"Because I love you," and he wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her into his chest. He half expected her to pull away but she didn't. She leaned into him so he was able to rest his chin over her shoulder. He noticed a discrete tear running down her cheek.

"I hate Mondays," Max whispered with a weak smile.

"Mondays suck," he answered softly in her ear.

"How far did you run?" He asked tightening his arms for a moment.

"About thirteen miles, give or take, maybe a bit more," she seemed tired. She was dressed in her warmest winter running gear. "I figured if I ran far enough I wouldn't have enough energy to throw anything through any of the windows." Normally, he would have heard humor in her voice, but this time it was dry. She was serious.

"Did that work for you?"

"No broken glass yet, but I'm still thinking about it."

"Why did you come?"

"To confront my childhood, to make peace with my demons, to figure out if I am really as screwed up as I think I am."

"And are you?" Danny knew she would handle blunt honesty well.

"I think I was. But I don't know if I am anymore."

"Really, what changed your mind?"

"You did."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not standing here alone anymore. That's how I've always felt here, like I was alone in what I dealt with all the time. Coming back always made me feel that way, but last night your mum said all this stuff to me and I didn't feel so bad anymore. Then I found that ornament with your tiny handprint on it and I couldn't help but start wondering about my own childhood and how different it was and why. So I came here to try and figure it out."

"And what did you learn?"

"I started remembering everything that happened here. Every time that my dad yanked me through that door because I wasn't moving fast enough and every time I managed to burn myself while making dinner for Bells because my mother just didn't care. But all that stuff moved out of my head and I had a realization; that my childhood was good because you and your family were in it." He hadn't expected that answer but it made him happy anyway. They stood in the falling snow for a while longer Danny's arms staying wrapped around Max's toned torso. He figured it was still an impressive feat that he could feel her muscle through her crazy warm running jacket. It still shocked him how ripped she was.

"I want to go back home," Max said after several minutes went by. She turned around in his arms and he hugged her from the front. He was going to kiss her but realized that wasn't what she needed right now, particularly because that would be relationship-ish and they were definitely not in that place. Plus she'd been weird about that for the past couple weeks. Instead he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her along with him toward the car.

"Mum's making pancakes for breakfast," Danny said after they were both in the car.

"Was she worried?" Max looked ashamed at the thought of having caused trouble for Kathy.

"Not really, I think she just assumed that you were running the whole time," Danny answered. "Which, if you ran over thirteen miles, then you were probably running for a lot of it. So she wasn't really wrong."

"Good," Max rested her head back against the headrest.

When they got back, Danny mentioned that everyone else was probably up and Kathy would have pancakes ready for them. They walked in together to the delicious smells of breakfast. Bells and Vicky were loading pancakes into their faces and Kathy loaded up a plate for Max to get started on. Luckily, she remembered how much Max could eat and had made a huge batch of batter. She even remembered to add chocolate chips to Max's pancakes, which caused Max to dig in so fast she was unable to answer any questions about her run. Danny figured that was probably a good thing because Bells wouldn't understand Max's need to see the old house. Bells looked at the past as something to be forgotten, but the way Danny saw it, that was much easier for Bells to achieve than it would be for Max because it was Max who bore the brunt of her parents problems, Bells never did.

The rest of the day was fun and relaxed. Basically, they ate and talked and pretty much just chilled out. Kathy, Bells, and Vicky all crashed early which spoke to how much the latter two loved to sleep now that they were on holiday because they had slept in this morning too.

Max made tea again and brought two cups to the sofa and sat next to Danny. They both sat quietly and simply looked at the tree. Danny grinned sideways at Max and cautiously laid his arm over the back of the sofa resting his hand on her shoulder. She smiled into her cup but didn't look up at him. He allowed his thumb to wander gently up and down the side of her neck, knowing she responded better to his touch than to his lips where her neck was concerned. Her eyes closed slowly but she was still grinning before she pried herself away from his touch. Danny grabbed both of their cups and set them on the floor.

"Danny," she started with a careful grin, "what are you doing?"

Instead of answering he placed his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her to him. His lips pressed against her own but he didn't feel her respond the way he expected her to. She was pulling away from him and he couldn't understand why.

"We're in your mother's house, Dan," she whispered. "I can't do this in your mother's house. It just isn't right."

Danny sat back in surprise. "Other girls have never had a problem with it before. I actually think Mum expects behaviour like this from me when I'm home."

"I don't care what other people are okay with Dan," she spoke to him with contempt in her voice. "I have way to much respect for you Mum, not to mention the other two in the house, to ever be okay with something like that. Besides, it's just not right anymore."

Danny was taken aback. He had never known a woman to turn him down because they had respect for his family. It was new and he loved her even more for it. Not to mention he was slightly embarrassed for not feeling the same.

"You're right," he said in shock.

"Can you repeat that?" she said with a joking smile.

He rolled his eyes at her, "You are right, your majesty." His tone was sarcastic and she swung out at his shoulder, connecting hard and causing him to rub it and moan. "Come here," he said with his arms extended for a hug. She sent him a questioning look. "Nothing funny," he told her with a laugh, "I swear."

"Fine," she smiled and allowed him to pull her into his arms. She relaxed against his chest as he laid back against the throw pillows with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Anyone looking in the window might think they were boyfriend and girlfriend but all Danny felt was how much he had wanted to hold her all day after seeing that one tear fall down her cheek. This was his protectiveness of her as a sisterly figure showing through, he was sure of it. They were not romantic feelings, right?

She fell asleep in his arms. He allowed her to breathe deeply on his chest and felt her heart beat against his own chest. It was the first time he had ever looked at her and seen vulnerability of any kind. He watched her head slowly rise up and down with his own breathing and he ran her fingers through her short hair, which was actually getting longer. Her longest layers fell almost to her shoulders and even though it was still choppy, he noticed how soft it actually was. If it had been anyone else he would have tried to lift them to take them back to bed, but he knew his limits. Max would be the first to admit she was heavy and as much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't carry her all the way to his bedroom. So he shook her awake so she could walk back. He kissed her on the forehead and pulled back so she could go to bed.

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**Just as a warning, the next one might be a bit short and wont be up until about Sunday, sorry about that ladies, but I'm doing my best I swear.**

**McSteph94** – I'm glad it made you smile. That was pretty much the only purpose of this chapter, to make people happy.

**Keels** – Totally understand the being busy thing. I thought the little guitar would be a cute idea, I'm glad you thought so too. And I agree, homemade gifts are definitely the best kind!

**Alexis Gage** – Ummm, WOW. This is definitely the longest review I have ever gotten. I don't think I've ever even left one that long. I loved it. I do have twitter, follow me at SongOfTheDate, I try to post a new song everyday and I love suggestions. I'm working on starting a personal one too, so that I can chat with all you guys too. I'm going out of town for work so hopefully we'll going to have internet at work this week so I can read your new story. I'm excited!!! I wanted everyone to see how much Chris loved Max too, not just Danny and Dougie although he does love them too. I think your description of the US thing makes perfect sense, and I actually feel the same way. I haven't even decided if I'm going to have them go yet, or maybe just one of them, I just can't decide yet. I got a kick out of having Chris sound out who the gift was from. I know the guitar was overboard but they had so much fun playing with him afterwards, not like they were watching a little kid, but more like they were playing with a friend, at least that's what I was going for. Hope you enjoyed cleaning, haha, I did the same thing all day.


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey All, told you it would be up by Sunday and I did warn you that it would be short. Hopefully the next couple will be up faster, but I can't promise anything. Love you all, and remember if anyone wants me to read one of their fics please let me know, I love to read and review, sometimes I just don't see the stories, so let me know!

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Last night I fell asleep across Danny's chest and it was the best quality sleep I'd gotten in Bolton up until that point, even though it couldn't have been for that long. I could hear his heartbeat in my ear and the rhythm lulled me to sleep. He shook me awake and kissed me on the forehead so sincerely I wanted to fall back asleep next to him, but that would be relationship-ish, plus it would look bad to anyone who woke in the morning and saw us. And I don't really want to, right? Because that would be like…well…bad, I guess, right? Of course I'm right, but anyway…

I didn't bother to set my alarm because there was no way I was going to get away with going on a morning run on Christmas morning. I slept much better than the night before and woke up the next morning to Bells bouncing up and down on the bed singing about how it was Christmas. Vicky soon joined in, which is odd because I'm used to being the only one up but clearly the childish excitement of Christmas had overtaken them all. I was practically pushed out of bed but soon the excitement had spread and I was looking forward to the day as much as they were.

The three of us trooped into the living room where Kathy was trying to wake Danny. To speed up the process, Vicky and Bells began singing about Christmas again and pounced on him. He groaned but it turned into a laugh as Vicky began to tickle him. They all rolled off the sofa in a pile of pillows and blankets. Kathy and I just laughed at them and avoided the mess. She had already started tea and I helped her to get eggs going as well. While Danny got dressed we got sausage and potatoes ready too.

Breakfast was casual and we all sat around the table talking and eating. It felt very familial and I really enjoyed it. It was still snowing out and it looked beautiful from the cozy interior of the house. After we finished eating we shifted our small gathering into the living room. We had all placed our gifts under the tree when we arrived two days ago and they were all still piled there waiting for us.

"Who's going first?" Kathy asked, settling herself in a large comfortable chair by the fireplace, a cup of tea still in her hand. None of us volunteered. She sighed but instead of picking someone she simply lifted an eyebrow at all of us and waited. Vicky finally giggled and hopped up to grab one of her gifts from under the tree. Her gifts were the easiest to see because, being a firm believer in being different, Vicky never wrapped her gifts in holiday paper. Instead she would find the most outrageous and colourful paper and wrap everything with that. She passed the perfectly square and small box covered in pink and purple fireworks to her brother. He took it, laughing at the paper before tearing into it. It was a slinky. And not one of those cheap plastic ones either. It was a classic sliver slinky, just like the ones produced back in 1945. Danny was like a little kid he was so excited, I'm pretty sure he'd always wanted one, but they have become much harder to find lately. Breaking open the box, we found that she had also managed to decorated it with some kind of special marker so there were guitars drawn all along the outside walls of the silly spring. Danny's first action was to take it to the stairs and allow it to 'dance' all the way down. He ran back to the living room and hugged Vicky, while we all laughed at his antics.

In the Jones family, whoever gets a gift gets to give the next one so Danny reluctantly returned to the living room and rooted around under the tree to find a box about the size of a large hardcover book and passed it over to his older sister. She unwrapped it slowly and found what looked to me like a box of computer junk. But clearly it was more than that because Vicky almost started crying.

"Oh my gosh," she gushed looking at the box in her hands. "How did you know?" She asked trying to keep her tears down. I still had no idea what it was and looked back at Kathy with a questioning look. She shrugged at me to show she had no idea what her kids were looking at either.

"Well, you mentioned it to Bells, who asked Gi what you were talking about. Gi was curious because she didn't really know what it was either, so she asked Tom, who not only explained it to her but also mentioned to me that it would be perfect for you," he gave the long winded explanation. She jumped at him and hugged him with all her might.

"Umm, could you maybe explain to the rest of us what this is too?" I asked, still at a loss as to why Vicky was so excited about computer stuff.

"It's personal voice recording software that's compatible with all kinds of keyboards and other instruments. It's kind of like having a mini studio in my house. The quality of the vocals is practically as good as a studio and it's the best for personal computers. A bunch of artists have started out by making their own stuff this way before they could afford studio time. Danny it's perfect, really it is, I love it," she informed us, all with a still stunned smile on her face.

"And Tom made sure I got the one that's compatible with your new computer. And he'll help you set it up if you want. I'd offer but I'd probably just screw it up," Danny finished, smiling back at his sister, who hugged him again.

It was Vicky's turn to give again and she pulled a garment box that had been wrapped in paper with hot pink balloons and said 'Party' all over it in glitter. The box was handed to Bells who grinned back at Vicky and slowly ripped the paper to lift the lid of the box. Inside was a cashmere sweater in a blue/gray shade that matched Bells' eyes perfectly. Hugs and thanks were exchanged again.

Gifts continued to circulate through the morning. Kathy got each of us thick, warm pjs. They looked like they were made for kids but they were all in our sizes. Mine had footballs all over them, Danny's were covered in guitars, Vicky's in music notes, and Bells's with stethoscopes and band aids. They were all so cute and we all went back to our rooms to change into them for the rest of present opening. Well, we went to our rooms and Danny to the bathroom because he was still sleeping on the sofa.

I got Bells a whole bunch of attachments for her camera. I had no idea what they were for but I know she wanted more stuff like that so I had Tom help me pick it out. Basically, without him, Danny and I would have been in trouble. We totally owed him. Danny handed Bells an envelope. Inside was a letter she read quickly to herself before looking at him with complete adoration on her face.

"Really?" she asked, her voice coming out close to squeal level.

"Really," Danny replied easily. Danny had said he didn't know what to get her so he was taking her for a day on the town when they got back to London. He promised her a great meal and day of shopping followed by seeing whatever musical she wanted. Basically he was going to spoil her rotten and I would have to deal with her gushing on about it for weeks. I didn't mind though. He had figured exactly what she would want. She was going to get a relaxing day being treated like a princess by one of her favourite men in the world. Nothing could be better for Bells.

Bells got me what she gets me every year, a new football, usually a crazy colour. She says it's so that I can always find my ball on the pitch, but I think she just has more fun picking out a fun colour. This year was acid green, perfect because I think Nike gave me a promo sports bra in that colour too, so that will be fun. Vicky got me a really nice top too. It was a dark gray, which she said matched my eyes. It was really nice but not my style. Knowing that fact full well, Vicky made sure to mention that she knew that nothing in my closet was good for really nice stuff like business meetings or whatever I might get stuck in for my promos, so this shirt was for those occasions. I really appreciated her putting that much thought into the whole deal, because she was right. I didn't have anything for stuff like that.

Danny was by far the hardest for all of us to shop for. The guy has everything he could ever want and when he thinks of something else, he just goes out and buys it himself. Bells finally decided on one of her favourite Disney films, _Ratatouille_, so that Danny would have something for Christopher to watch if he was ever over there. Mostly because all Danny owned were action movies, inappropriate humour movies, and porn, basically nothing appropriate for a four-year-old to watch. Vicky had gotten him the slinky. I had trouble with Danny so I decided to go with something similar to what I got Chris. I handed him the box and he ripped the paper then held up what was in it. The Bolton Wanderers jersey hadn't been hard to come by, but the autographs had been a challenge.

"Wow," Danny's eyes had glazed over as he stared at the shirt. "Where did you even manage to get this?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh right," he laughed, "famous football star."

I let him think it had been easy. It really hadn't been, I had hunted them down when they were playing near London and talked the coach into getting his boys to sign it for me. To be fair, I traded my autograph back, although those were mostly for their daughters and stuff, not for them so much. Then I had to find all the players of the injured list who hadn't been at that game. That had taken some time, but I had finally managed it.

"Did they all sign it?" he still seemed amazed that I had managed this.

"Yep," I answered, happy I had managed to get him something he would actually like and something that he wouldn't have been able to get for himself.

We had all kind of chipped in for Kathy's gift. I got her a day at Bells' and Gi's favourite spa in London, appointments were already made for her and a friend. Danny got her tickets to some show she really wanted to see for that same night and Vicky and Bells got her a beautiful outfit for the evening. I really admired both of their tastes, they were so different but managed to pick out something Kathy loved. She crying when we told her the whole plan and hugged each of us in turn.

My gifts to Bells and Vicky were last. I pulled two tiny boxes out from the tree branches where I had hidden them and past them to my beautiful sisters. They looked at me curiously but opened the boxes at the same time to find small ring boxes with a jeweler's name embossed across the top. They popped the boxes open and found almost identical rings sitting there. I pulled an identical box from my pj pocket and showed them mine as well. All three rings were platinum bands with each of our birthstones inlaid in them with tiny diamonds on each side. Vicky's was the deep purple/red garnet for January, Bells' was the bright blue aquamarine of March, and mine held a deep blue sapphire for my birthday in September. On the inside of each band read _Sisters We Will Always Be_. Bells practically jumped on my lap the moment she slipped on her right hand ring finger. They all fit perfectly as I had them sized after discretely asking both of their sizes. Vicky had tears in her eyes and pulled me into her embrace. Bells jumped in on that too so all three of us were a mess of arms in the middle of the Jones living room.

"Let me see them," Kathy demanded from her spot in the armchair, getting up to get a better look at our hands. We all turned to her, tears now running down the faces of the other two as we extended our hands to her.

"They're beautiful," she announced after a careful examination of each one.

Vicky slid her ring back off and ran her finger around the inscription inside the ring. "Sisters we will always be," she whispered softly. "We're sisters," she said, smiling and looking up at both of us.

"Of course we are," Bells answered her, stunned that Vicky seemed surprised that we saw her that way.

"Never a question in my mind," I added, grinning at her.

The rest of Christmas was an enjoyable day. That night, again after everyone had gone to sleep, Danny and I sat up talking for a bit. He pulled out his old acoustic guitar.

"Do you want to hear the tune I've been working on?" he asked tightening the old strings so he could get the sound he wanted.

"Sure," I answered, surprised by the direction this was taking. He almost never played music for me. Normally he reserved everything for Tom to listen to first.

He strummed quietly and I found the tune quite different from anything else I had ever heard from him, but I still enjoyed it.

"Any lyrics yet?" I asked after he had finished.

"Not really," he answered, fingers still gliding gently across the strings. "But I like the idea of having something like this in there somewhere…" He played the tune again and sang quietly, "Ohhh, Ohhh, OhOhOh, OhOhOh…" His voice was so quiet but still amazingly beautiful even though he wasn't even singing words. Sometimes I feel like I could get absolutely lost in it.

"Sounds great," I told him with a smile playing across my lips. "How did you come up with it?"

"Uhhh," he turned a light shade of pink in the dim lighting from the tree. "Well… I kind of came up with it the morning after the, umm, first time we, umm, were together," he finally sputtered out.

"Really?" I was amused by his embarrassment. "Well I like it. It's kind of different than anything else I've ever heard that you've written."

"Yeah, Tom said the same thing, actually so did Harry and Doug now that I think about it. I don't know. I just felt different that day I guess," he was turning an even deeper shade of pink, it was actually pretty cute.

"Yeah," I laughed softly, "I hear I have that effect on people. Well, I'm off to bed," I said before he got a chance to retort. "Night Dan."

"Night Max."

We had a relaxing boxing day and went back to London the day after. I can't say that I'll miss not being in Bolton but I do miss seeing Kathy every day. I'm already looking forward to when she comes to London to take advantage of all her Christmas gifts.

* * *

**Just for the record, I don't actually know when Vicky's birthday is but I liked the garnet colour best for her, so I just picked it.**

**Anyone know what song those lyrics are from(even though they are not really lyrics)? I know it doesn't really fit with the cannon timeline but it worked better for me for him to be writing this song now, even though technically it would have been released on the album they were talking about in the beginning. Just ignore that technical fact for now please.**

**McSteph94** – Glad you liked it. I love the way Danny talks about his mum in interviews and I thought this was a good personality to give her. And don't feel too sorry for Max. If her family had been good, she never would have met the Jones family.

**Alexis Gage** – Totally romantic feelings coming from Danny, he just doesn't realize it yet. Will he ever? Who knows…


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry all these updates have been taking so long. I have a lot less free time than I thought I would. I think we are nearing the end of the tale. I'm not sure exactly how many chapters are left but I think about 2 or 3. Thanks to all who are still reading!!**

* * *

"This is a mad party," Bells exclaimed as our cab pulled up to Tom and Gi's house. They had once again planned a raging party, this time for New Year's Eve. People were flooding into and out of the front doors. Most of the women I could see were scantily clad in sparkling outfits and from what I could see at this distance, the guys following them around were hoping for more than a kiss at midnight. I followed Bells own sparking form from the cab and toward the door. Some of the guys looked at her inappropriately on our way in, but she knew far too well that guys like that were not good enough for her so she continued on through the door, ignoring their looks. I should have ignored them too, but I couldn't help but shoot a couple frightening looks in their directions.

"Bells!" I heard Dougie exclaim right as she walked through the door. I followed her and saw him hugging her with child-like exuberance while she giggled along with him. "How was Christmas?" He now looked up toward me, while keeping one arm hanging around her shoulders in a friendly way.

"Awesome," she answered for the both of us. I smiled, not yet having a terribly proper answer to that question yet. I was grateful that Bells had enjoyed herself and happy that everyone had seemed to as well. I was comfortable with my decision to let the past stay in the past and at peace with the fact that I was now working on moving past my childhood, but I can't say that either of those things were 'awesome' so I'm still choosing to keep my mouth on the quieter side.

Dougie gave me a hug too and gestured us further into Tom's front room, which was even more packed with people than the house had been at Halloween. I could see Harry dancing with a beautiful blond woman, one who, in personal opinion, did not look nearly as dumb as the girls he usually hung with. She was smiling at him, but I could see that she was still reserved and wouldn't take any of his charming bullshit at face value. Is it strange that I could tell all that just from looking at her? I was good at reading people, and I was guessing she'd had just enough to drink to have exactly how she was feeling plastered across her face. I actually hoped I would get a chance to talk to this woman sometime this evening. Just the way she moved and her facial expressions told me she was someone who was confident, not because others told her she should be, but because she had worked hard for whatever it was she had or did. Again, I think I may be reading too much into a simple look passing across her face, but I was still looking forward to meeting her.

"Max, Bells," a happy voice proclaimed from several feet away and to my right. Giovanna's bouncing form found its way to our sides. She hugged Bells quickly and pushed her still further into the room before embracing me, stretching up on her tip toes as I bent down. "How was Christmas?" she asked into my ear at a slightly lower volume.

I was still unsure of how to answer this, but knew that, in order for her to ask after purposefully waiting until Bells was gone, she must have at least known of my resistance to go initially.

"Enlightening?" I know it came out as more of a question than an actual definitive response, but for now it was the best I could do. She gave me a smile that was a bit more of a grimace showing she knew there must be more to the story but that she was respectfully choosing not to ask, at least for now. And I appreciated that so I gave her a full smile to show her she hasn't been too inquisitive and to try and portray that she would be welcome to ask again at a later date.

"Hey Princess," I heard one of my favourite voices say a few metres in front of me. Danny was hugging my little sister while winking at me over her shoulder.

"Hey Dan," Bells giggled like a little girl in his arms.

"Make sure you have fun tonight, okay?" He said to her in a demanding tone.

"Sure thing," she smiled easily and turned to say hi to some others.

"But not too much fun," he called after her. She tossed her softly curled blond hair over her shoulder and gave him a cheeky grin and a wink.

I laughed at him as he came up to me and wrapped his arms around me. He practically collapsed on me. "I find myself worrying more and more about her," he told me with a grimace.

"Hazard of having a younger sister," I said back, still laughing. "Wanting her to have as much fun as possible, wanting her to succeed, and wanting her to be careful all at the same time."

I looked more closely at him and noticed he felt a bit heavy in my arms. He was having me hold more of his weight than was normal. "How much have you had to drink so far?" I asked him carefully.

"Just a couple beers, I'm still all here. I promise."

"Sure you are."

"I am." He pulled himself away from me. He walked a perfectly straight line, turned over his shoulder and gave me an 'I told you so' look before walking up to a slutty looking blond girl. Seriously, who wears a skirt so short you can actually see your underwear? Have a little class. Not to mention I could almost see her nipples so much of her boobs were falling out of what can only be called a sparkly tank top, because it certainly wasn't a dress. But whatever, he can do whatever he wants.

The beginning of the evening passed quickly. I had become a lot more comfortable with Danny's friends since Halloween and it was quite a bit easier to talk to everyone around me. The evening got interesting closer to midnight.

*****

A few more beers later Danny couldn't stop thinking about Max and the things she had said to him while they were at his house at Christmas. She hadn't said that physical stuff was completely done between them, but that didn't mean he wasn't totally aware that it was over. He had tried to get over it by picking up as soon as they had gotten home. To put it nicely, it had been less than satisfactory. It was uncomfortable, nothing like it had been with Max. It had made him want to be with her so much more. He wouldn't have done anything about it but he was pretty sure that he had seen a frustrated glare cross over Max's face when he went to talk to that blond girl who had thrown herself at him earlier in the evening. That one glare told him he had a chance because, at the very least, he could tell that Max didn't want him to be with anyone else.

He was wondering how best to go about talking to her, since they were in Tom's house and Danny practically lived there anyway, he would just take her to Tom and Gi's room. He did at least feel the need to ask one of them first and as soon as the thought flashed through his mind he found himself actually stumbling over Giovanna, who gave him a jokingly angry look.

"What are you doing?" she asked in an accusatory tone.

"Looking for you," he answered easily, although he was swaying on his feet a little.

She looked him up and down, "why?"

"Because I need to talk to Max and the only place I'm going to be able to do that is somewhere a little bit quieter than here, so I was wondering if I could borrow your bedroom."

Gi broke into a grin that surprised him, "sure."

Danny couldn't believe it had been that easy. He had been certain she would at least pretend to give him a hard time before she caved. "Ok," he said slowly, not wanting to jinx it, "thanks."

"No problem," Gi was still giving him that mischievous grin. He began to walk away when he heard her voice call cheekily after him. "No sex in my bed though Daniel, understand?"

Instead of answering he turned and rolled his eyes in her direction hoping she would take that as a sign that wasn't what their relationship was like. Even though he was hoping it would turn into that again. Not because he was in love with her or anything. It was just that, well…who was he kidding. He knew how he felt about her. Even though he might not exactly be in love with Max yet, he couldn't imagine ending up with anyone else long term. It was a distinct possibility with them. At least, he thought so. He was just trying to get past the night they had watched Robin Hood with Chris and Max had asked him in a scared tone, "You don't expect me to fall in love with you, do you?" He couldn't get that out of his head. Surely she must have kind of changed her mind about that now. He saw the glare she had given the other girl he had spoken to that evening. But then, maybe she was caught up on having caught him with that other girl. He could admit that had been a huge mistake. But then hindsight is 20/20 and at the time it really had made sense.

As all this ran through his mind at a speed he didn't realize his brain was capable of, particularly with this amount of alcohol effecting it, he noticed he had been unconsciously been wandering toward Max in the crowd. She was standing by herself but she looked much more at ease than she normally did in large groups of people. She was less easy to spot than she had been at Halloween for instance. As he watched her he noticed very subtle differences about her persona then and now. Her physical appearance was the most obvious. The spikes she had normally worn in her hair at that time were replaced by a still choppy bob. Her brown hair now fell just past her ears and curled softly at the tips. A gentle smile was on her face. He recognized it as the smile she had when she was around Christopher, which is how he could tell that it was genuine. Her eyes weren't as angry or as challenging, although he could tell she was still scanning the crowd as a habit. The more subtle difference included the way she moved around people and her powerful stance was relaxed as she leaned against a wall conversing with Dougie.

He hoped that all these indicators meant she was in a good mood and would handle having this conversation well. He reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder before remembering, too late, that she didn't handle this well. She didn't react as she once might have. Meaning she didn't punch him, but she did shift her weight quickly to open herself up to the rest of the room and place Danny's body in front of her own. It might seem weird but he knew she did it so that she would be in the defensive stance with him in front of her instead of behind. He was still amazed at how fast and agile she could be in a crowded room.

"I was wondering if we could talk for a second," he said into her ear.

She gave him a questioning look and he thought she saw the sincerity in his eyes and agreed. He felt her shift toward Dougie to excuse herself from the conversation and Danny felt a momentary feeling of importance, because she was leaving someone else to be with him. He immediately shook that idea from his head. First because Dougie was one of his best friends and second because Max would kill him if she could hear what he was thinking.

He led her toward the back of the flat to where Tom and Gi's room was located and closed the door behind him.

"I made sure with Gi it would be ok if we talked back here," he answered a question he knew she would be burning to ask. She didn't like to intrude on other people's personal space. He was pretty sure that was because she hated the idea of others in her space.

"What's up?" she asked, arms crossed, not angrily though, standing with her feet slightly apart. It was the stance that made him think that if he ran right at her he would hit her and fall backwards while she wouldn't even move. The thought made him smile slightly, which caused Max's eyes to narrow in suspicion. "Seriously Dan, what's going on?"

"Nothing," he let out the breath he now realized he had been holding. "I just wanted to talk to you about us."

She looked honestly confused. "What about us?" Could she really not understand what he was trying to get at here?

"It's just that we used to be so…close," he finished his starting line and realized he was going to have to try harder or she wouldn't get it.

"Dan," she looked at him like he was an idiot. "My sister and I spent Christmas at your house with your family. How much closer can we get?"

He knew that she must know what he was getting at by now and decided to spit it out. But instead of trying to act serious, he decided to go with playing, hoping she would react better to that.

"You know what I mean," he laughed softly. He walked up to her, grateful she was wearing flats and he had chosen to wear runners so he was taller than her. He hooked a finger through her belt loop and tried to gently pull her closer. She didn't budge. "I just miss you that way."

"That is such a line," Max broke into a smile and Danny thought he might be getting somewhere.

"No way," he smiled back. "You're the best I've ever had, no one even compares."

"I bet you tell that to everyone," she actually laughed out loud now. Danny was just drunk enough to think it was a playful laugh.

"Well, yeah," he admitted, a childish grin on his face. "But I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever really meant it."

"Then I appreciate the compliment, but it's not going to happen."

_Darn_ – he had been so sure he was getting somewhere. "But why not?" He tried to switch his tone back to serious and realized he came out a bit whiny. He really wished at this point that he hadn't had so much to drink.

"Because it's not a good idea," she said, changing her tone as well. She was angry, but her voice told him her mind was made up and there was no way she was going to change it, no matter what he said. "You'll still be sleeping with other people and that will just make me angry. And I don't ever want to be upset with you over something as ridiculous as that."

"I won't sleep with anyone else," he was trying so hard to make his tone sincere. He wanted her to know that he could drop the playboy thing if he really tried. At least, he was pretty sure he could.

"First of all, that is not the point. We wouldn't be in a relationship so it wouldn't be fair to ask that. Neither of us are the relationship type of people. Tom and Gi are, you and me, not so much. And Second, we both know there is no way you could pull it off anyway."

Ok, so she was probably right about that, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try, that should count for something. He tried to think of something to say but she cut off his train of thought.

"You'll get over it Dan. In fact, I think we both know you already have and you just want to get lucky tonight and you thought I was the easiest target. So let's go back to the party and try to find you someone else, okay?"

She didn't get it. He wanted to stop her and explain again what he really wanted. He didn't want her thinking she was just some easy score for him. Sure, he was still a playboy, but that didn't mean that she wasn't more important to him than the others. But she had already turned and walked out the door, expecting him to follow. He sat down on the bed and ran his fingers through his hair. This wasn't going to work. There was only one thing left to do.

Danny picked himself up off Tom's bed and walked back to the party, heading straight for the makeshift bar. _If this were a romantic comedy_, Danny thought to himself, _I would stand up on the bar and proclaim my undying love for her or something and she would realize that she wants to be with me and we would live happily ever after. But we're not happily ever after people_, he remembered saying the same type of thing to Giovanna many weeks earlier at the time of the Cosmo article. So he grabbed a beer and chugged. Realizing that wouldn't quite do the trick, he downed a couple shots after that.

Time began to blur together. He didn't remember the names or faces of the people he had spoken to. The next thing he knew he was being walked down the cold street to his own house. At least, he thought that was where he was going, but his sense of direction was not really where it normally was, not to mention his lack of anything resembling clear vision.

He could feel someone stronger than him keeping him up as he leaned heavily against their shoulder. _Must be Harry_, Danny thought to himself knowing that, of the three other guys that would walk him home before midnight of New Year's Eve, only Harry would hold as much of his weight as the person next to him was doing. The cold air was clearing his head a bit and he realized that his friend was going to be pretty pissed at him tomorrow. He had finally convinced one of their concert violinists to join him at one of their parties. It was a big deal for Harry because he had been slowly edging his way into Izzy's life for a while now and was pretty excited at the progress he was making. By taking him away from her tonight, Danny knew Harry would loose brownie points with her, which meant Harry would probably kick his ass tomorrow.

Instead of trying to talk and hear Harry's angry voice respond to him, Danny chose to stay quiet and just lean against his friend who was manoeuvring him past the icey patches of the sidewalk. When they arrived at his door Harry put his hands into Danny's pockets and began fishing for his keys.

_WAIT…Harry would never go through my pockets. That would be so awkward and weird_, Danny thought, suddenly panicking because he could no longer figure out who was with him.

"Dude," Danny exclaimed, hearing his own voice was fuzzy sounding to his own ears. "I will get my own keys," and he pushed himself away from the person still holding him up. And he fell right on his bum.

"Right you will," came a sarcastic voice from above him. The voice didn't match the body he had just been leaning against. The person carrying him had been much too strong to be a woman, right? Where there two people with him? That didn't make sense either. They would have spoken to each other on the way. Who would have been comfortable enough with his drunkenness to haul his butt back to his house without saying a word? All his questions were swirling through his mind too fast and giving him a headache.

"Come on Danny," the voice was behind him now and the same strong arms that had held him up on the way here were now pulling him up from behind. Still unable to regain his balance Danny let his weight sag against this person. Feeling her breasts against his back he now put together that the voice and the muscle both belonged to the same person. One arm tucked under his shoulder and across his chest to hold him still the person slipped their free hand into his pocket and pulled out his keys. Normally, he was pretty sure he would have been turned on, but he was way to drunk for that right now. Slowly moving him forward, the person held most of his weight and he focused on the right hand that reached in front of him to unlock his door. On the ring finger was a platinum band with a dark blue sapphire glinting under the lights by my door. He'd seen it before but just couldn't place it.

When the door swung open, the woman ducked under his arm to support his weight and walked him through his sitting room. She was huge, the same height as he was and with shoulders just as broad. She practically dumped Danny on the sofa before leaving. _Where has she gone? She wasn't just going to leave me here on my own, right? Women never just left me…Ever._

Danny was slowly realizing that his stomach was not sitting too well. Damn all the drinking he had done, it wasn't going to be doing him any favours tonight or the next day. The woman returned with two large glasses of water, one full of ice and the other without. Setting down the ice water she held the other glass to Danny's lips and told him to drink if he didn't want to feel so sick the next day. Danny ignored her because the ice water on the side table had gotten his attention too. He had seen someone do this so many times, but his mind was still blank of all names except Harry's for some reason. If someone had asked him to name all the members of his band or even the band's name there is no telling whether or not he would be able to handle it.

He dug in his mind to name the person he was with, he trusted her and didn't want her to leave, but couldn't put a face in his mind to save his life right now.

"Danny?" the voice was further away than it had been before. Had she moved to the kitchen again? But she hadn't because her long cool fingers came to rest across his forehead.

"Max," he said suddenly and internally berated himself for not being able to think of it sooner. If she had known, she would have been so mad.

"Yeah?" her voice was soft, but he was able to focus back in on it so it didn't seem like she was fading anymore.

"Why did you think I was just trying to get lucky?" he wasn't really sure where that question had come from but a hazy conversation from earlier in the evening was floating back and forth in his mind.

"Because Dan," came the soft voice. This time he thought he heard a little hurt in it, "I know you."

"I love you," the words sounded so simple and didn't seem strong enough for how he felt about her. She was part of his family already. They practically belonged together. They could fall in love if they tried. He knew it.

"But that isn't going to be enough," came the answer. He was about to retort again when he suddenly felt he body right next to his. He tried to zero in on her but it was still impossible for his alcohol ridden brain. Lips touched softly against his. And that was the last thing he remembered of that evening.

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**McSteph94** – Glad you liked all the presents. I had a lot of fun thinking them up.

**Alexis Gage** – I'm so glad you like it. I want them to realize how right they are for each other too. It just has to be at the right moment or not at all.

**Keels** – Gold Star for recognition of the song. And I would love to spend Christmas with the Jones's too. How would that be as the greatest gift of all time!?


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry it has been so long. But only one more chapter after this so I'm kind of trying to drag it out because I'm not ready for it to end. Then maybe an epilogue if I feel it needs to be wrapped up more neatly, we'll see.**

**I would also like everyone to read and review "We're the Young, We're Alright" By McSteph because she is bummed no one is reading and wants to stop writing it. But I think it is funny and cute and really want it to continue, so please review for my sake, haha. Thanks Everyone.**

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I couldn't help myself. I tried but I really couldn't. He said he loved me and even though I knew that wasn't enough, even though I told him it wouldn't be enough, I had to kiss him anyway. I missed it. I loved the way we worked together. Besides I knew he was too drunk to remember anyway. Our lips pressed together gently at first, then a lot more hungrily. Before I even realized it, I found myself perched on his lap, legs straddling either side of him. The intensity between us was undeniable, even if Danny was so drunk this would be a memory only I would hold. Maybe it was better that way.

His tongue was massaging mine and his hands had pulled me so close that I was plastered against his chest. _We work so well together_, my subconscious kept reminding me. I was getting hooked. I wanted to give into him and I knew that was a bad idea. We weren't right together, not yet at least. I pulled away from him and heard his small groan at the missing contact. I lifted myself off of him and sat next to him on the sofa, grabbing my water from the side table to keep my hands and mouth occupied.

"Max," Danny began softly, "I…" he paused and suddenly bolted from the sofa to his bedroom. I heard retching sounds coming from where he had ran to and sighed. _Trust the guy I'm snogging to end up tossing it_, I thought to myself before pulling myself up from my seat and heading to Danny's bathroom.

I stood in the doorway watching Danny heaving into his toilet and wondering how I got myself into messes like this. I knelt down beside him and held one of my freezing cold hands against the back of his neck. With the other hand I slowly pushed the sweaty curls off his forehead. This was probably partly my fault and one good thing that results from basically being a parent to a younger sibling is that things like this are not that much of a problem for me. It just doesn't bother me the way it does most other people.

When he had finally emptied his stomach, exhaustion overtook Danny. I pulled him up, forced him to brush his teeth, and splashed cold water on his face to clear his head a bit. He was wreck and I knew the best thing to do would be to get him to bed, but that he would sleep much better if he wasn't covered in sweat and goodness knows what else. I carefully helped him undress down to his boxers, all while he was apologizing to me for being a bad friend and whatnot. I ignored all that because you really can't take what a drunken man says to heart because they probably either don't mean it or won't remember it in the morning. I turned on the shower, making sure that it wasn't so hot that he would burn himself and told him to take a shower and closed the bathroom door behind me.

At this point I was actually fairly worried about his ability to stay conscious and kept my ear close to the door waiting for a thud telling me that Danny had finally passed out but thankfully it never came. I grabbed a clean pair of boxers and his warm Christmas pjs from his mother from his dresser and set them outside the door when I heard the water turn off.

"Danny I left your pyjamas outside the bathroom door," I called into him. "Change and then come and get me from the sitting room, ok?" I didn't hear an answer. "Danny, can you do that?" I repeated through the door. I heard a mumble and took that as a yes so I stepped out of his bedroom. I know I'd seen him naked before and I shouldn't really care all that much, but under the current circumstances it just didn't seem right.

I heard a lot of bumping and banging coming from his room and hoped he hadn't hurt himself too bad. The door swung open and I could see he had managed to get his boxers and pants on but was struggling with his shirt so I took pity on him and helped him pull it over his head.

"Thanks," he muttered as I led him back to his bed. "I don't want to go to sleep yet," he whined like a small child. I rolled my eyes remembering that he could act like this when he had drunk too much. I think it only happened when he got sick to. Probably because that made him feel like such a child to begin with.

"Then don't," I figured it would be easier to placate him at this point. "Just get into bed so I don't worry about you any more."

"Aww, you were worried about me," he gave me a cheeky grin, but his far off gaze and slightly slurred speech told me that he still wasn't all there. In fact, he was still really drunk and definitely wouldn't remember any of this in the morning.

"Sure Love," I said in a placating manner as I helped him slip into bed and tucked him under his comforter. "Of course I was." I was about to turn and walk away from this childish Danny wrapped tightly in his covers when his hands reached out and grabbed my wrist to stop me. He pulled back on me to get me to return to him. I wanted to fight it but knew I would get away faster if I just went along with him for now.

"Stay with me," he said. It wasn't a playful tone or a harsh one, but it was a demand. I sat down on the edge of the bed not committing to what he had asked. Suddenly his arms were around my waist and he pulled me over him so I was lying on the opposite side of the bed, right next to him. I would normally have been able to stop that without so much as an afterthought but he had moved much quicker than I would have expected from anyone in the state he was in right now. He giggled softly in my ear and remembering how much he had to drink, I knew that if I gave him a couple minutes he would be out and I could just get up and leave. At least, leave the room and go to the sofa, because I wanted to make sure he was ok through the night. Not that I would ever let him know that.

Danny's arms were still around my waist and, since I had already decided that fighting it would be a waste of time, I allowed myself to settle in a bit and wait for him to fall asleep.

Then I had a realization. If Danny hadn't been drunk, this would have been a perfect moment. I was so comfortable with his arms wrapped around my waist and his fingers playing with the bottom of my shirt. I wanted to settle down with my head on his chest and listen to his deep breathing and his heartbeat. I wanted this kind of perfect moment before I went to bed every night.

Then I had another realization. It wasn't the right time in my life for this yet. I could let myself fall in love with Danny and spend about a year in a perfect relationship with him before everything came crashing down around us, or I could convince myself that it was a bad idea and move on for the time being. I wasn't ready to do this and I knew that in the long run this wouldn't make me happy. And forget about just me, Danny wasn't ready for this either, the British public can attest to that. I'm not ready to have to constantly think about someone else in my life and my decisions right now.

Then I had a third realization. I would never be happy being this close to him and not being with him. But there was no way I could be happy with him either, because I'm just not ready for it yet. That kind of only leaves me with one option.

Danny's eyelids had begun to droop and his grip on me had loosened considerably.

"Danny," I whispered softly, turning in his arms so I was facing him and not the ceiling.

"Mhm?" came his soft mumble from the dark. I knew he wasn't listening and even if he had been he wouldn't remember, but I had to tell him first.

"I have to tell you something really important so just listen, ok?" He didn't even move so I took that to mean he was paying close attention, even though I'm pretty sure he was asleep. "I got this amazing opportunity from a team in the States." Still no movement. "They want me to play in L.A. for this team call the Sol. I've basically been offered a starting position and I'd be paving the way for American women who play the game. The guy that called said they want me to help bring recognition to the sport and make it big in the States like it is over here."

I paused thinking of how I wanted to phrase this. It was important to me even though I knew he had no idea what was going on. "I've decided that I have to go, even though I'll miss you and Bells. You have to promise to take care of her for me, ok?" I brought up a hand and brushed his damp curls away from his face. A soft sigh escaped his lips and I had to fight to continue on with my little speech. "I love you, Dan, but we're not ready for anything serious yet and it would destroy both of us, not to mention our family. We have to be apart for a while and this is the best way I can think for that to happen. I know you're not listening to me now, but I hope you can understand why I made this decision when I tell you about it again." I climbed out of his bed and circled around to where he was sleeping. I brushed a small kiss across his forehead and squeezed his hand before walking out to his sitting room and getting out blankets and a pillow so I could settle myself down upon the sofa.

Now that my decision had been made I would have to call Bridget and I would have to tell Bells when I went home tomorrow. As I fell asleep I found I was excited about this new chapter in my life and wondered if Bridget had made a decision as well.

*****

Danny woke up around six the next morning and realized that 1) he had definitely not made it to midnight for the New Year last night, 2) he was not really sure how he had ended up in his own bed, and 3) he had a splitting headache and his mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. The only one of those he could do something about was the third so he slowly moved from his bed not making any sudden motions so not to make the hangover worse and made his way to the kitchen. A tall glass of water and two painkillers later he realized how early it was and wondered if he would be able to get back to sleep.

Walking back through his sitting room he noticed a figure sprawled across his sofa. Max's wild hair protruded from the top of the blanket and he realized that he had just figured out realization two. He had a vague recollection of Max hauling his ass back to his house and pushing him through his front door. Did they kiss last night? No- that didn't make sense. He must be thinking of some other girl, which got him thinking that he really hoped that Max hadn't seen him kissing whoever she was.

He quietly tiptoed past her and, once in the kitchen again filled another glass of water. He walked back past the sofa and set the glass on the side table next to it for Max when she woke up. He laid back down in his own bed and took slow gulps from his own glass hoping to ease his acing head, but at the same time knowing he deserved the pain he was in. He couldn't even begin to guess how much he had to drink last night and, when he was being honest with himself, he really didn't want to know.

He had almost fallen back to sleep when he heard his front door open quietly. He jumped out of bed to stop Max from leaving and realized to late what a mistake that fast motion had been. His head seared and he stumbled before hearing the door shut. He knew Max had left but knew there was nothing he could do to stop her as he felt a fresh wave of nausea sweep over him and bolted back to his bathroom just in time to stick his head in his toilet before being sick. He was not going to have a good day he could obviously tell that right now. Suddenly, he felt cool fingers wrap around the back of his neck and a soft hand move slowly up and down his back. He felt the nausea slowly subsiding and turned to face his best friend in the world.

"You didn't leave," he said, making sure his face was far enough away from her so she wouldn't be subjected to smelling his putrid breath. She was wearing the same jeans she had on the night before and a t-shirt he was fairly certain she had swiped from his drawer. Obviously she had dealt with at least a minor amount of discomfort last night in order to stay with him and make sure he was alright. For some reason he had the distinct feeling that she had been upset with him last night and appreciated that she had stayed in spite of that.

"I heard you fall and came back to make sure you were ok," she replied, a laughing smile flitting across her lips. "Clearly you are not."

He made a feeble attempt at a laugh but didn't want to force it so that whatever might be left in his stomach didn't feel the need to come back up.

"Brush your teeth," Max demanded of him before slowly standing and pulling him up with her. She walked out and, fearing she would leave, Danny hastened to brush his teeth and gargle with mouthwash before bolting, or at least moving as fast as he could without triggering another gag reflex, back to his front sitting room. She was gracefully moving about his home returning all the bed clothes she had used on the sofa to their proper places. He watched her move and wanted to hug her, but he didn't because of that nagging feeling that something was wrong between them, although he could not for the life of him remember what it might be.

"I'm going home," Max announced when everything was put away. He didn't even bother trying to stop her because he knew it would never work. "Let's get together tomorrow and play some ball," she smiled at him. "It's been a while."

Danny smiled, "sounds perfect." And he watched her retreat and close his front door behind her.

*****

I pulled out my phone the moment I was out of his house and went to dial the number of the coach who had initially called me to invite me to the team. But when I got a good look at the actual time I paused. It was only 8am here, and as LA was 8 hours behind that meant they were only now calling in the New Year, so I would have to wait until late this afternoon to make that particular call. So instead I phoned Bridget who I knew had gotten back into town yesterday to have a quiet New Year's celebration with her little boy. No doubt Christopher was already up for the day and I knew Bridget was definitely an early riser so I didn't think twice about dialling the number.

"I'm coming over," I told her the moment she picked up. I think she must have heard the urgency in my voice and told me I was more than welcome.

Knocking on her door I was nervous to tell her my decision and equally worried about what hers might be too. The moment she pulled the door open I blurted out without preamble, "I'm going."

Her face broke into the largest grin I have ever seen, "Me too."

I shouted my elation as I entered and found Chris skidding into the front hallway to hear what all the noise was about. "Me and mum are moving to America," he told me with excitement, but also a bit of wariness as though he was worried what my response would be to this news.

"Max is coming with us," Bridget told him picking him up in a huge hug and spinning him around.

"Really?" his eyes widened further as he squealed in delight.

"Sure thing," I told him as he made the usual move from his mother's arms to my own. "I couldn't let you go and have all the fun."

We discussed our plans further and both of our stories slowly came about. Bridget had spoken to her parents about the move and they had seemed so thrilled for her she realized how much she had always wanted to do something like this. It just took those people who loved her most to remind her of that. When she later spoke to her ex-husband he played it off as though it were all about him. I think the real deciding factor for her was when Aaron asked in a panic if she was taking Chris with her. Mistaking his worry for concern she said maybe they could work it out and Chris could stay with him to begin with. To that, the jerk answered that it was defiantly best that she take Chris along from the start. He had been panicked that Bridget was going to leave Chris with him, not that she was taking him away. Seriously, what man feels that way about his own son?

I told her that I had thought about all she had told me when I first told her about the offer a couple weeks ago. I wasn't ready to discuss the whole Danny thing right now, but I knew I had to bounce the reasoning off someone and she would be the one to understand. After listening intently to the whole story, and I do mean the _whole_ story, she breathed out deeply. I was worried about what she would say for a moment but she cracked a smile at me.

"I think you're right," she told me, causing me to sigh with relief. She laughed. "You are the one person that I believe knows herself and what is best for you better than anyone else. If you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will not be happy with him yet and that you will be happy playing for this team in LA, then I will back you 110%, always," she added at the end to emphasize how much she really meant it.

"You gotta be happy in life, Max," she grinned again. "I know that better than anyone. We have to take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. It'll be an adventure."

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**Alexis Gage** – I'm glad you thought it was cute, but I feel like you might feel a bit differently after this chapter. Mostly because being sick from drinking too much is never cute, it's gross, haha.

**McSteph** – I know you said you wanted them to be together and now I'm really afraid you'll be upset with me for having her decide to leave. And I'm glad you don't want this fic to end, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but every thing must come to a close.


	26. Chapter 26

**It's been so long I'll just get right to it.

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I went home that night and had a long talk with Bells. She started out by being mad that I had made this decision without her but it quickly turned to tears as she realized I would be gone for an extended period of time.

"Why couldn't you just play for a pro team here?" she asked, wiping her now running mascara from under her eyes.

_Because I can't be around Danny_, I thought to myself, but I knew I couldn't tell her that. "Because they aren't going to give me the same types of opportunities as I'd be getting in the States." I told her pushing back the hair that had fallen in her face. "They want me to help push the sport and make it popular there. It's like I'll get to pioneer women's football there. I'll get to be a role model for girls who love the sport but who were always told they can't do anything with it. Kind of like people told me when I was little and the only people I had to look up to were mostly male players. If it hadn't been for players like Bridget who proved that women could play the game and be entertaining at the same time, there wouldn't be a league here like there is."

"Do you really have to leave?" she whispered.

"Yeah," I pulled her into a hug. "But I'm not going to be gone forever plus you can come and visit me in LA. And I'll come back for holidays and stuff, or you can come see me."

"Is this really going to make you happy?" she asked, burying her head into my shoulder.

"I really think it will."

"Then I guess I can be okay with it then," my little sister said, raising a hand to her cheek to brush away a tear that was streaking toward her chin. "I want you to be happy."

"I want you to be happy too," I told her, hugging her closer. "This is going to be good for you too. I'm not going to be around all the time telling you what to do and who to hang out with, you'll finally get to make all your own choices without me interfering all the time."

"I don't mind that you do that stuff," she whispered against my shoulder.

"I know, but now you get your chance to be an adult. To live your life your way."

"I guess it will be alright, but you have to promise to call all the time."

"I promise."

"When are you leaving?" she was slowly collecting herself and wiping away her tears.

This was the hardest part. "Next week." Her jaw dropped, stunned. "Training starts in the middle of January because the official season starts in March and we have pre-season matches and everything, so I have to start training right away."

"Oh," Bells soft expression of surprise was barely audible.

"While we're on the subject, I have to tell you something else too." Bells looked up at me and I could tell she was almost afraid of what I was about to say. "Bridget is coming with me, to play for the same team, and she's bringing Chris too."

She slowly digested the information and a slight smile played across her thin lips. "That's good," she said finally, "I'll feel better knowing the two of you, well three of you, will be looking out for each other."

That evening she helped me pack, both of us bummed that I had to leave so soon and wondering what our lives would be like after I left. It was a night that we shared memories and funny stories, and, by Bells anyway, a couple small tears.

I wasn't looking forward to what I had to do the next day. Sure, I had told Danny I was leaving, but in his completely drunken state, there was no way he could possibly remember anything I said to him, no matter how important it had been. I ran to his house the next day to find him ready and waiting for our game to start. We hadn't played ball together in a really long time and all I wanted was for everything to be normal between us, even if it was only for an hour or so. Some of the guys showed up and played around with us for a bit, but the cold got to them and they headed in early. After an hour of kicking around my lime green ball in the snow, he asked me if I wanted to come in and have a warm drink before heading home. And before I realized what I was doing, my plans spilled from my lips.

"I'm leaving Danny," I said boldly as he began walking back toward his house.

"Oh, okay," he seemed momentarily stunned. "I guess I'll see you around later then."

"No," I realized he hadn't understood. "I'm not leaving now, I'm leaving leaving."

He just looked at me with raised eyebrows that told me he had no idea what was going on and edged me to explain further.

"I…Well, I…I got this offer," my abruptness suddenly seeming like a less than perfect approach. "And I've decided to take it."

"To play?" He looked suddenly excited. "That's sweet. Where at?"

"Well, that's the complicated part," I began slowly, hoping he wouldn't be upset. "It's for a team in L.A."

His jaw dropped, "Like L.A. in California? Like in America?" His questions made me feel like maybe I had made the wrong choice. But I thought back to Bridget and my strength returned.

"Yeah, they're called the Sol, and the coach called a while ago…"

"And you are just telling me this now?" His voice conveyed both anger and hurt, and call me crazy, but I think there was a little bit of betrayal in there too.

"Well, I just decided on New Year's Eve, and I told you about it, but you weren't really in a state to remember," I finished quietly, hoping he wouldn't take that as a jab at his drunkenness, although I guess it kind of was.

He winced at the memory, or at the memory of the morning after, because goodness knows he didn't remember the night of.

"Bridget and I just realized what an incredible opportunity this was and knew that we really couldn't pass it up."

"Bridget's going with you?" his voice suddenly changed to that of a barely audible whisper.

"Yeah, they want her to lead the team and for us to bring the kind of recognition we had from the World Cup. You know, trying to improve the popularity of football in the States."

"So you're taking Chris with you too?" His words were still quiet and I realized what had him so surprised. Not only was I leaving, I was taking his newest little buddy along with me.

"Yeah, I think we're all going to live together too so she has someone to help with him, plus it will be easier to just find one place." I knew I was rambling but he wasn't saying much and I just wanted to keep the conversation going. "We're leaving next week because of our practice schedule so I was up late last night packing with Bells. She took it a lot better than I thought she would too…"

_Seriously, what did I do last night?_ Danny thought frantically to himself as he sorted through what Max had said to him. She was now rambling about details that he couldn't care less about at the moment. He was far too pre-occupied with the bomb she had just dropped on him. He heard himself interrupt her one-sided conversation.

"I told Tom I would meet up with him at the studio to discuss some new song ideas when I was done here," he heard himself say. _No, that was not the right thing to say right now_, he realized but knew it was too late to take it back.

She looked back at him, clearly taken aback at his abruptness and his intent to leave as soon as she delivered what he knew she considered to be very important news. "Oh, okay…" she began slowly. "I guess I don't want to keep you then. Have fun writing."

"Thanks," Danny said, managing to act nonchalant but he was really freaking out inside. He watched her turn slowly in the light dusting of snow and take off down the sidewalk. _Man, I really screwed that one up._

He jogged, at a very slow pace, back to his house and jumped in the car after grabbing a guitar from his sitting room. Flipping open his phone while he drove, he dialled Tom and told him to meet him at the studio as soon as possible. Tom sounded confused, but agreed. Danny knew Giovanna was spending the day with her sister so he wasn't really interrupting anything for Tom anyway.

He pulled into their studio lot and bolted inside, now feeling the cold of the day seeping under his skin. He thought it was odd that he hadn't noticed it earlier, while being outside, but when he gave himself a moment to think about it, he realized it had set in when Max had told him her news.

Danny let his fingers fall along the strings of his guitar and found himself loathing the sound they made, which he figured, was probably not a good thing. He just needed to talk his way out of how he was feeling right now and everything would go back to normal. He heard Tom's car pulling into their lot and sighed gratefully, hoping his friend would be able to help fix him. Then maybe they really would write an awesome song today. Maybe he could actually write some lyrics for the tune he wrote such a long time ago, the one he had played for Max over Christmas.

He heard Tom enter the studio but noticed that he seemed to be talking to someone. Had he gone to pick up Dougie or Harry before making his way over? Had they already been at his house and decided to come along? Was he ready to discuss this with anyone else quite yet? Then he heard the voice that answered his best friend. Giovanna's clear, happy tone travelled back to him. He was sure she had been with her sister today.

"Hey Dan," Tom came through to the back room where Danny was set up. "Hope it's ok I brought Gi with me, Georgie cancelled their day together last minute because of something that came up for work. She had to do an extra bridesmaid's hair or something else that, being men, we will never understand."

The gentle smile and quick hug Gi graced Danny with, made him feel so much better, he immediately wondered why had hadn't thought to talk to her in the first place. She knew Max, but not so well that she would feel as though she were betraying confidences if he asked about her. And she knew Danny well enough to be blatantly honest about what she thought was going on with his weirdo feelings.

"Some bad stuff happened today…" he began.

Giovanna's face immediately darkened and Tom cocked his head and looked confused. "What do you mean mate? What happened?"

"Max is leaving."

"She leaves all the time. She's got all those projects and stuff she's always working on, plus she was bound to go back to training at some point. She's not abandoning you or anything. She always comes back." Tom seemed annoyingly upbeat and positive. Danny scowled which made Gi frown. She must have put everything together more quickly than Tom had.

"She's leaving for good isn't she?" she asked him softly.

"Leaving for good?" Tom asked astonished. "Gi that doesn't even make any sense, she lives here."

Gi just kept a soft but sturdy gaze on Danny's down turned face. When he didn't look up she reached out and put her small hand over his and squeezed. Danny pushed back tears. He was upset but he wasn't going to be a baby about this.

"Gi's right," he finally got out. "She's leaving for good."

"What!"

"She's going to play for a team in L.A."

"Like in America!"

"Seriously Tom," Gi turned to him incredulous, "stop shouting, of course in America, do you know of another one?"

Danny let out a groan and put his face in his hands. Both Gi and Tom returned their attentions to him. Both offered consoling words, but when Gi asked what had happened when Max had told him and found out he had just taken off, she smacked him over the head.

"That's for being a complete prat," she told him, frustrated. "She was probably so worried about telling you and then you reacted that way and…oh I can't believe you did that. What's she going to think, huh? I'll tell you what she's going to think. She's going to think that you don't even care. You're horrible."

"Stop lecturing Gi," Tom said, "it's not really helping." Gi snorted but held her tongue.

Danny talked everything through with them and he felt a bit better but now he just wanted to be alone. Tom caught on quickly, Danny loved his best friend for that, and they left him alone with his guitar.

Pulling his thumb across the strings he found he didn't hate the sound of it anymore and set about distracting himself by writing some lyrics. But there was still only one topic on his mind.

What had I done wrong that all the sudden Danny had bolted? Did he really have plans with Tom? And if he did, why hadn't he told me about them earlier?

So many questions ran through my mind as my feet steadily pounded the pavement. I was running a bit fast for the condition of the sidewalk, but right now I could only focus on how Danny had reacted to my news and my confusion over that had me running a bit harder and faster than likely was safe. I began questioning the decision I had made. After all, I had made it quickly while reacting to my fear of what I felt for Danny. That wasn't the best way to make a decision, right? Maybe I should rethink this whole thing…

I was running past the park near my building and saw a group of boys, all around the age of 12 running about and kicking a dirty, slightly flat football around in the slushy snow covering the field. They caused me to pause in my run and watch them. Two boys who looked so alike they may have been twins raced down the pitch passing almost flawlessly between them. It was as though one could sense where the other was going to be before he actually hit the spot causing unpredictable passes that had the other team jumping around, but not even coming close to stopping them. Suddenly, the ball seemed to disappear. The two boys obviously knew what had happened before I did and I watched them turn and bolt back in the direction they had come. My gaze scanned the group in the muddy slush, looking for the ball. Then I saw it, one individual moving faster than the rest, feet moving the ball well and dodging the players around them. Then I noticed a distinct difference between this person and the others. A long brown ponytail was flying out behind the child's head. The person who had just shamed those two boys was a girl, and a talented one at that. She had sniped the ball from them and I hadn't even noticed her do it. Those passes were clean too, which meant she had the ability it had taken me a while to learn. She could analyze what was happening and use it to predict what was going to happen, or she just got really lucky, but I'm inclined to believe the first one. She was weaving with ease, then without warning, made a flawless pass to freckle-faced, ginger-haired boy who seemed stunned to receive the pass, but recovered quickly enough to make a clean goal.

I hadn't been that generous when I played as a kid. I fought for the glory and always wanted to be the one who made the goals. Sometimes I would share if the other team was good enough to make it hard, but only when I knew someone else on my team had a better chance of making it and never to someone I thought might choke. As I looked on, I noticed the team rushing the boy who had made the goal and all slapping him on the back, clearly happy for him, making me realize that he probably wasn't that good and rarely had a chance to shine. But the girl on the pitch had just given him that chance.

Here I was, wanting to be a good role model for people, even moving to the States, hoping I could have a bigger impact there and I had just been shown up by this 12-year-old girl. As my mind wandered, again pondering if I was making a good decision, I didn't realize that the girl had recognized me and was poking her friends to tell them who I was. As I looked on, she boldly ran forward and gushed, "You're Toma Maxwell, right?"

He voice had a beautiful ring in it and reminded me very much of Giovanna. "Yeah, you're pretty good," I told her, hoping she would take the praise well and not let it go to her head the way some children were inclined to do.

"Thanks," she smiled on, her braces shining in the sunlight, "but it's all about having the right people backing you. My team is the best." I was shocked, maybe they were older than I was giving them credit for, because this kid seemed awfully mature for age I thought she was. "We were kind of wondering if you would sign some autographs for us," she asked, suddenly letting her gaze drop shyly.

I grinned, "I'd love to."

"Awesome," she said, very enthusiastic, and waved the boys over from the field. They all came running up. I asked them they're names and learned a little about them as I signed some napkins and candy wrappers the kids found in their pockets, not to mention the football they had been playing with and a couple shin guards. The girl's name was Rebecca, but all the other players called her Bex. I also noticed there were two other girls that had been playing with the group of boys and inwardly berated myself for assuming they were all boys when I first noticed them. I was always the kid who got angry when someone assumed that because there was a group of kids playing sports, they must all be boys (although I was usually angry, so that wasn't a very big change for me) and now I had done the same thing. When they all thanked me and had shaken my hand, they began to pour back onto the field to keep playing, but I asked Bex to hold back for a bit.

"You know," I said to her when we were standing alone, now watching the other resume play, "I would never have passed to the other kid, I probably would have taken the goal myself."

For the first time since she spotted me, I noticed a frown mar her features. "Are you saying you think I made the wrong decision?"

"Absolutely not," I said, smiling down at her. "You made the exact right choice. You are a star; even I can see that. But it takes a real leader to push to make others better. You could have made that goal without thinking twice, but you wouldn't have learned anything from it. By helping your team mates and giving them chances, they can learn and get better, making your team more likely to succeed all together."

She smiled up at me, "I learned that when I watched that charity match you played in." She looked down shyly before continuing, "Remember? The one that Danny from McFly was in?"

"I remember," I smiled at the vivid memory of seeing him for the first time in years.

"You were all over the pitch, but you always shared the ball and gave someone else the glory of the moment, even though everyone knows you're the best. I even watched you in the World Cup. My dad said that it was a joke because watching girl's games wasn't as interesting as watching the men's games. But I told him he was wrong, because I could tell, watching you and the rest of the team, that while men's football has a lot of guys with loads of strength and stuff, women's teams actually have way more talent. I mean, the strategy you use is amazing. I find it way cooler to watch, and I learn way more from it." She gave her little speech and amazed me at the amount she seemed to pick up. "Most of the stuff I do on the field I learned from watching those games because my coach isn't exactly open about having a girl on his team. And I had to quit the girl's team because all that coach did was tell everyone to pass to me and this other girl because he thought we were the best and he didn't care about helping anyone else get better, just about winning, and I didn't like that. Plus I'd rather play in the back field, you get to watch more of the game that way."

Umm, WOW, talk about having wisdom beyond your years. I had learned more from this kid in ten minutes than I did from my secondary school coach in the whole five years I played for him. I thanked this kid for everything she had said to me and told her that if she got a chance she should watch the news tomorrow night, that was when Bridget and I had set up our press conference to tell Britain we were leaving.

My decision had been made. Just hearing Bex talk about what she had learned just from watching women's football had me convinced that going was for the best. There was a larger audience in the States, sure it was because their population was almost five times that of Britain, but still. And, a little selfishly, it made me feel a bit better knowing this girl had learned a bit about fair play from my team and me. She would make a great leader, probably on the field and off, and maybe we played a bit of a part in that. I knew I was making the right decisions and I knew I was making them for the right reasons.

I was nervous about going the news to explain to Britain that we were leaving. It wasn't something the general public ever took very well. They didn't like that national stars were going to play in other countries, particularly outside of Europe, and the States is practically heresy. Bridget's calm outer demeanour was something I was clinging to right now. I hadn't spoken to Danny since yesterday, but Bells was with us and so was Christopher, so I had a steady support system. I was about to loose part of it, but that didn't mean it would actually go away. Bells and I would support each other just fine from across the ocean.

"Alright ladies," a guy in a huge headset carrying a clipboard came up to us, "You're going to be on in a couple minutes. Why don't you take your seats behind the microphones and get comfortable?"

"Sure thing," came my clean reply, at least I didn't sound nervous. Although I suppose I wasn't really. I was making the right decision, so was Bridget, and neither of us had anything to be ashamed of. We were going to rock this.

* * *

**My Dear Friends. If you are reading this now you may be the most dedicated individual in cyber space as it has been over 9 months (I think) since I updated. There is one chapter left and I will post it this week as it is finished. Love you all and please send me notices to read your stories as I would love to do so. Kmm writer and McSteph are first on my list.**


	27. Chapter 27 The End

**Final Chapter Everyone. Thanks so much for reading. Also, I realized that the stars I put between points of view never showed up in any of my previous 26 chapters. So I separated them here but I know the others were hard to read and I'm sorry!**

* * *

Danny had grumbled all morning about the TV being turned to Max's press conference. Giovanna simply told him that if he was going to complain, he could leave, and Tom settled with just giving him an annoyed look. He understood their frustration with him, he knew he was acting like a child, but he was hurt and he was upset that she hadn't bothered to tell him about all of this earlier. However, that didn't mean he didn't actually want to hear what she had to say, since he had bolted on her before she was able to explain. He still complained throughout the entire show, to the point that Gi actually threw a pillow at him from the couch and told him to shut it or she would forcibly remove him from her living room, but he listened all the same. She told a story about a young girl she had met and the opportunities she and Bridget would have and their hope that they could bring a love of football to the States. He thought all of those were terrible reasons. If he saw her he would tell her so and that she should stay. She was being so selfish.

"Do you think you'll stay in L.A.? Become U.S. citizens?" asked a pushy journalist in the front row.

Danny sat up quickly, stunned by the question. Of course she wouldn't. She would never do that to Bells. Would she? He looked directly into her face and, even though it was through the television screen, tried to mentally force her into the answer he wanted to hear.

Max's normally hard grin evaporated with an easy laugh and she glanced at Bridget, letting her give an answer for both of them. The blonde had a laughing smile on her face as well. "You must be kidding," came her easy answer, Danny relaxed as some of the journalists chuckled quietly. "This is our home, we've played for the national team, and our families are here. This is where our hearts lie. Just because we're jumping on an amazing opportunity, doesn't mean we're abandoning the country we love." Danny sighed in relief and understood why Max had allowed Bridget to answer that one, she was eloquent and comforting to those who were legitimately concerned that they were leaving for good.

The press conference came to a close and, as much as he hadn't wanted to watch it in the first place, he wasn't ready for it to be over. He had so many more questions for both of them and he didn't want to have to be the one to ask. Gi turned off the television and subtly glanced toward him, he pretended not to notice and turned away to see Tom jump up and grab his guitar and move into his music room, with his, "I've had a sudden inspiration" look on his face.

"You should probably go talk to her, you know," Gi stated conversationally.

"I don't want to."

"Quit being so self-centered," she chastised. "She cares about you, and what you think, and I'm sure she would like your approval."

"Well she doesn't have it."

"Then go tell her that, and as long as you have a good reason, she'll listen. As long as you realize you probably won't change her mind."

"Then what's the point?" he challenged, angry that people were trying to butt into his feelings.

"She'll know you care," Gi almost whispered her final statement. Then she stood and walked to the kitchen, gently resting her hand on his shoulder as she passed.

Gi knew everything, Danny made this statement frequently. She knew how to say exactly what he needed to hear, even though it frequently upset him. He knew she was right and he knew he should listen, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

Slowly pulling himself out of the chair he called to both of them, "I'm going to head to the studio for a bit, try and lay down those guitar tracks I've been working on."

"Sounds good," Tom called back. "Burn them to a disk if you get a chance. I'd like to listen to it all the way through."

"Sure," Danny called back. And as he pulled on his shoes and opened the door, he saw Gi peering at him from the kitchen, a meaningful look on her face. Danny turned away and shut the door.

* * *

I finished packing that night and made sure I had all my stuff for the flight in my carry on and everything else I might need packed in my two large suitcases. The manager of the Sol had called and said that he had found us a place to live (Bridget and I had let them know we wanted to live together with Christopher). We were leaving early to move in and get settled before training actually started.

Bells was sitting on the couch with a pout on her face.

"You know, you sitting there with a frown on your face isn't going to change my mind," I told her with a small smile.

Her pout cracked into a slight grin, "I know, but I figured it was worth a shot."

I say down next to her and she curled up next to me. "You're going to come out and visit," I said softly. "And I'm going to come back too."

"I know," came her soft sigh, "but that doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you."

"I know," I said, "I'll miss you, too."

The next morning was crazy; grabbing last minute stuff, fending off Bells tears, and grabbing a cab to the airport. Bells had to take another cab because there was no room with all my stuff. Although, she said she didn't mind because she had to make a detour any way.

In the cab, I settled my head against the back rest. I had written a letter to Dan last night, but tossed it aside, deciding not to give it to him. He was upset with me because I had made such important decision without him, at least I thought that's what it was. My other guess was that he just given up on me, and as much as I didn't think he could ever do that, it was enough of a fear that I didn't want to give him the chance to ignore me.

* * *

A loud knock came at Danny's door early the next morning. He was still in bed, but the knocking kept going until he finally got up and answered the door, a scowl on his face. Bells glared back at him. The look on her face was so uncharacteristically hard, he could feel is scowl be wiped away in surprise.

"You're a jerk," she stated, and without giving him a chance to retort, she handed him a folded up piece of paper. "Max wrote this last night. I don't think she was going to give it to you, but you both need to get over your stubborn streaks, so here." And with that she turned, walked back down his front steps, and climbed into her waiting cab.

Now frustrated with both of them, he shut the door, tossed the piece of paper down on his table, and climbed back into his bed. It only took 15 minutes of tossing and turning to realize that, not only was he not going to get back to sleep, but he also really wanted to read that letter. With a heavy sigh he pulled himself from his bed, and stumbled into his kitchen, grabbing the letter from the table and falling into one of the chairs.

_Danny, _(Max's untidy scrawl was easily recognizable)

_ I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm hoping you know that by now, but I know I didn't tell you and I'm not sure who else would have. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this before hand, but it all came spiralling in front of me and fell into place so well. I'm not good at asking for advice from other people, I like to make my own decisions and I like to make them for me and Bells. It's time I stop hanging over her and telling her how to live her life. I have to let her experience things for herself. She isn't damaged by what our parents did to us and I can't let my insecurities and scars stop her from living any more. But I won't be able to do that from here. I have to leave or else I will keep putting myself in her way and she'll miss out on so much. _

_ I don't mean to sound as though I'm doing all this for her, because I'm not. I want this opportunity to teach other people and be someone who makes a difference. I love this game and I want to play and I want to be a big shot, you know I can't handle be stuck on the sidelines. The Sol is going to give me the chance to be a star. Besides, I can't let Bridget go on her own. We are now far too invested in each other's lives to just jump back out. _

_ I talked to Vicky and your mum yesterday and they were both so supportive. I told them I would fly them out to visit sometime with Bells, and I do hope you'll choose to join them._

_ As far as people that matter to me go, that just leaves you. I'm going to miss you, but you and I both know that I cramp your style. Having me around scares away all those girls that are ready to throw them selves at you. I love you, and that isn't going to change, but I can't help but think that we'll continue to make inexcusable mistakes if we are so frequently around each other. I'm not one to ask for things, but I hope you don't just give up on me. I often hurt the people I love the most, a habit I've gotten from my father I'm afraid, but please, please don't just disappear. _

_Love Max_

He stared down at that letter in shock. He thought she was being selfish and leaving everyone because she didn't like to have attachments. Even worse, she thought that him not calling meant he had given up on her as a friend, just because she had hurt him. She was so used to being abandoned that her mind immediately assumed he was doing the same thing to her. That wasn't the case at all. Sure he was upset that she was leaving, but the whole thing had turned into such a misunderstanding.

The only answer had for this was something he really didn't know if he could pull off, but surely he had enough time. He changed, grabbed the keys to his car, and was on the phone with Tom within two minutes asking for his friend's help.

* * *

"We're going to miss you so much," Giovanna's arms encircled Max. She had to stand on her tiptoes to get her arms all the way around her, while Max bent down toward her too. Bells had apparently called her from the cab.

"I'm going to miss you too," I told her, genuinely happy that she had come to meet up with Bells and say goodbye to me and Bridget.

Christopher was bouncing up and down with excitement and looking into the faces of all the people around us. I know he was waiting for both Danny and Dougie, sure that his two heroes were going to come and see him off on his great adventure. I wasn't nearly as optimistic. I continued looking down at the ridiculously fancy phone Bells had got for me so that she could get a hold of me whenever she wanted (I'm certain she got help from Tom in picking it out). I was hoping Danny would at least call before I left, but I wasn't holding my breath.

"Dude," came a happy voice behind me.

Christopher squealed in delight.

_He's here_. I couldn't help but think to myself. I turned around with a smile on my face and saw that Chris had practically mauled Dougie. Luckily, Doug had managed to catch the kid as he came flying at him.

"Hey Little Dude," Chris was now resting in Dougie arms where he was held at face level. "You didn't think you were going to get out of here without seeing me, did you?"

"No way," Chris said easily, he had full confidence in those boys.

"You excited, man?"

"Yeah, we're moving near the beach!"

"Sweet!"

"Are you gonna come visit?" Chris asked, bouncing again.

Dougie glanced up at me tentatively while also trying to hold Chris and not drop him, he was wiggling in excitement so much. I smiled and nodded to let him know that he would, of course, be welcome.

"Sure I will," Doug told the little boy. "It might not be for a while though, not until after the tour and stuff."

Chris nodded seriously, "I understand. After that though? Do you promise?"

Dougie hesitation lasted only a moment, Chris didn't notice. "Sure man, I promise. But like I said, it probably won't be until summer or something like that ok?"

Chris gave him a thumbs up.

Gi flagged down a random person and asked them to take a picture of us before the three of us left. As soon as the flash was off Bridget looked down at her watch. "We've got to get into the line." I nodded and pulled Chris from Dougie's arms.

"Wait," Chris called. "What about Danny? Isn't he coming?"

I didn't know what to say. I looked up at Doug, who shrugged. "I tried calling him," he said softly, "he didn't answer."

_It doesn't matter_. I told myself. But it wasn't me I was worried about at the time. I had no idea what to say to Chris. I glanced at Bridget, hoping she could make it ok.

"I'm sure if he could be here, he would be," Giovanna pre-empted her. "He really cares about you, Chris. I'm sure there's a really good reason why he couldn't get here." She looked up at me as she finished talking, as though she was saying it as much for my benefit as she was for Chris's. Even though I didn't really believe it, I was grateful for the explanation. Besides, maybe he really was trying to get here.

"Dougie," Chris turned his slightly crestfallen face to him. "Will you bring Danny with you when you come visit?" His little voice allowed a plea to enter it.

"I'll do my best," he answered honestly. "But you better believe I'll be there no matter what."

He said it in such a positive voice, Chris couldn't help but perk up even though the answer hadn't been exactly what he had hoped for.

We slowly made our way to the entrance of the terminal, lots of hugs all around. Then we finally stepped through the metal detectors and waved back at our friends who were waiting until they were unable to see us anymore.

* * *

"What time is the plane leaving?"

"Probably really soon, as Gi has been here for a while now," Tom answered, sprinting with Danny toward the entrance.

Then Tom stopped suddenly and Danny ran into him. "Dude, what are you …" Danny started. At that moment he saw the same thing Tom had seen. Giovanna, Dougie, and Isabella were exiting the giant sliding doors, Dougie's arm wrapped around Bells' shoulders and Gi's elbow linked with hers. They hadn't seen them yet and Danny running up to them and nearly running into them was quite a startling experience. Gi actually jumped.

"Dude," Dougie practically yelled at him. "What the hell? Where the hell have you been?"

Danny ignored him. "Tell me they're not gone yet," he begged Bells. "Tell me she's not gone."

"Her plane pulls out in less than 10 minutes," she whispered. "They waited to go though until the last possible minute." He could tell that her voice was slightly accusing, but he couldn't think about that now.

"Then I can make it," he said turning toward the entrance.

"Not without a ticket," Tom said. "And you'll never make it to their gate. The international flights always leave from the far away gates."

"I'll buy a ticket and run," he answered, annoyed they weren't being more helpful.

"Danny," Dougie said, finally taking pity on him. "You'll get mauled. Remember who you are for a minute."

"You and Tom can create a distraction," Danny said, wildly hoping this plan he was quickly forming would work.

"Not after you get through the gate," Tom agreed with Dougie. "You can't make it in time."

"I can't not try," he said. "She'll never forgive me." He turned to Bells hoping she would see his point of view in this case.

She smiled softly, "sure she will." Her voice was comforting, past the anger she felt earlier. "She's more upset because Chris wanted to see you. But she'll get over it. I promise."

"But how will I get it to her before she leaves?" This question was directed at Tom who was clearly the only person who understood the question.

A sudden grin appeared on the blonde's face. It was the look he got when he felt suddenly clever. Normally this was a good look, but at this moment Danny just wanted to throttle him.

"What!"

"I downloaded it onto my phone."

"Ok," Danny waited. "So what?"

Tom rolled his eyes. "Bells just gave her a phone with internet. We can email it to her. She should get it before she has to turn it off when the flight starts."

"Well, then do it!" Danny was almost yelling now. He was hysterical.

Bells pulled away from Doug and Gi and wrapped her soft arms around Danny. "Chill big brother. Yelling at Tom isn't going to make him go faster."

Danny started to relax into her arms. He couldn't believe he had screwed this up.

* * *

My crazy new phone started buzzing just as we were walking up to the people at the gate to show them our tickets. I ignored it and handed over my ticket. Then I grabbed Chris's small carry on so Bridget could pick him up so he wouldn't be in the way or get run over by everyone's rolly bags. Seriously, how hard is it to sling a bag over your shoulder, they even had backpacks with wheels on them. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the straps?

We were seated with our luggage "stored safely in the overhead compartments," and I was going to turn off my phone, knowing that the announcement was coming when I remembered the buzzing. I pulled it out and stared at the screen. There were so many little pictures I could pick from. I went with the little envelope that had a star next to it. I figured that was as a good a guess as any.

It was a good guess as I had an email waiting from .uk. Anyone want to guess who that one comes from? What I couldn't figure out was why Tom was emailing me before I even left. I touched the email on the little screen and a file popped up, nothing written to explain what this might me. It said 3. Even I know that an mp3 is music, and the fact that it was called "new song" made it pretty clear that Tom wanted me to listen to it right away. Otherwise he would have waited until I had landed. He flew more than anyone else I knew and knew the rules about phones and planes.

I pulled ear phones from the small bag I had packed under the seat in front of me and plugged them into the phone, touching the icon on the screen hoping it would start playing. Tom, being the wonderful friend he was had already downloaded all the software I needed to play the song before Bells even gave it to me. At least, I assume it was him. Bells is only moderately better with technology than I am.

A steady guitar reached my ears. It was clear to me that the music had yet to be produced and it sounded a little rough, but it sounded good. I was sure I had heard the song before. Maybe Danny had played the tune for me at some point.

I felt my heart jump a bit when I heard Danny's voice, and when I heard the first line, I was sad because I knew it was going to be a sad song. Danny hates Mondays and if everyday felt like one he must be having a pretty terrible time.

Everyday feels like a Monday,  
There is, no escaping from the heartache,  
Now I, gotta put it back together,  
'Coz it's, always better late then never.

Wishin' I could be in California,  
I wanna tell ya when I call ya,  
I could've fallen in love,  
I wish I'd fallen in love.

Out of our minds and out of time  
Wishin' I could be with you,  
And to share the view,  
We could've fallen in love,  
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Waking up to people talking  
And it's, getting later every morning  
Now I, realise it's nearly midday  
And I've, wasted half my life, to throw it away,  
Saying  
Everyday should be a new day,  
To make you smile and find a new way,  
Of falling in love,  
Yeah falling in love.

Out of our minds, and out of time,  
Wishin' I could be with you,  
To share the view, oh  
We could've fallen in love  
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh  
We could've fallen in love  
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh  
Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

Sick of waiting, I can't take it gotta tell ya  
Sick of waiting I can't take it gotta tell ya

I can't take another night on my own, so I take a breath and then I pick up the phone she said  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
She said  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
She Said  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
Oh Oh Oh  
(sick of waiting i can't take it gotta)  
Fallen in love  
Oh, we could've fallen in love, oh yeah  
Fallen in love, we could've fallen in love  
Oooh  
Fallen in love (yeah)

The speaker came on telling everyone to turn off their mobile devices. But I really didn't want to. I wanted to listen to it over and over again. We could have fallen in love? Did he really think that? He said he wished he could be in California. That has to be a reference to me, right? And now I'm leaving. Crap.

* * *

Tom's phone made a loud beep, signalling he had a text message. Pulling it from his pocket while Danny looked over at him, he selected the icon from the screen. Tom smiled at the message.

"What?" Danny asked. "Who's it from? What does it say?"

"It says, 'tell him it was beautiful and that I miss him already.'"

* * *

**My Friends, there is a sequel in my mind. But it does not yet exist on paper and will not for some time I'm afraid. However, I will do my best to get it out before the end of the year. I've got a couple others I've begun working on including a story that combines Maximum Ride and Mcfly, so I could use a couple opinions on that. I want to thank all of you who have continued to read, even after the one year sabbatical I took. Thanks so much to all of you. **

**XOXO**

**Dani**

**McSteph – **Thanks so much for continuing to read even though it's been such a long time. And I promise to get through the rest of your stories! They're all so good.

**Kaylee – **I'm glad you enjoyed it! I love soccer too it's my favourite sport ever, so I had a lot of fun writing about it.


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